Into Thin Air
by dodger
Summary: How would having friends cost a heavy price? Seto Kaiba finds out when he decides to finally befriend Yugi and Co. Rating PG-R for now.
1. Taking It Back

Into Thin Air

Heyas All, this is Bishi Girl Maria, with my friend Bishi Girl Carolyn. We've written 'dis little ficcie for you all. It's a little slow because we're emphasizing on the character development. But just sit you kiesters down and enjoy the story. All you Seto fans REJOICE!!! You'll be seeing the awesome-ness that is he in this story. So enjoy!!!

Seto: Holy crap. Who let her out of her straight-jacket? 

* Joey sheepishly backs away from a discarded jacket *

S: YOU STUPID DOG!!

J: AH'M NOT A STINKIN' DAWG!! She tricked me ..she said she'd give me candy...

S: -.- You are an ass

J: AH SHADAP, YOU OVER DRESSED...* they start fighting*

* Maria sneaks up on them and chains them up* BISHIES!!! ^^ 

S: Wonderful...

* Drags them off to her and Carolyn's secret underground lair. *

C: Oohh...BISHIES!! MORE BISHIES

* chains them up next to Bakura and Wu Fei from Gundam wing *

M: WE LOVE BISHIES!!

* Tatijana and Marianne walk in with Heero and Duo..*

M/C/MA/T: BISHIES!!!!

Bishies: 0.0' 

S/J: 0o... SAVE US ...HELP.. SAVE US JEBUS!!!!

M: Okies you all enjoy the story..

C: Ya, move along now. Nothing to see here people...* camera goes fuzzy*

***

Before we get cozy, just want to say that we don't own Yu-gi-oh or any related 

characters. And we are aware that Peggy died at Duelist Kingdom, but we unfortunately live in hyper-sensitive America where nothing can be offensive and must be sugar-coated * twitch *, so we are following the WB's version of the anime. Also Tristan and Teya will be referred to by their Japanese names, because Anzu and Honda are so much cooler...hehe..okies now we can start. 

O yea..PLEASE R and R!!! Thankies!

* * *

Prologue:

Ryou walked down the dark street on his way home from Yugi's home. It was a cool evening, and the sun was setting; the sky rich with deep purples and bright pinks. He sighed contentedly as he passes by shop after shop picking his way through the city toward his neighborhood. He was glad that he had good friends that he could hang out with after school, because he definitely did not enjoy being at his house. His parents were once more gone, off some where in Europe, the length of their stay unknown. He hated not being with them, most of all he hated being alone. Well, he wasn't technically alone. What parent would leave a fifteen-year-old home alone while they were in another country? No, Ryou's parents had made sure that his long time nursemaid, Mrs. Tweed was there to look after him. The white haired teen sighed. It wasn't that he did not like the fussy old woman, but nothing compares to ones parents... no matter how negligent they were.

Ryou sorely missed his father, not just for personal reasons, but he wanted to ask him about the peculiar necklace that his father had given him from a dig in Egypt. It was a beautiful artifact, but it had recently caused the gentle teen a great deal of trouble. Even though he had friends, Ryou was forced to distant himself, for fear that his other side would cause trouble or possible harm to those Ryou loved.

//So..I'm..TROUBLE..Ryou?// A dark voice sneered.

Ryou froze. That voice. Ryou ducked into an alleyway and looked down at the necklace that hung from his neck. Unknown to most this was the Millennium Ring, a mysterious pendant that was a link to the even more mysterious shadow realm. Yugi had something like his ring, but it was a puzzle. Inside the puzzle dwelled a benevolent and courageous spirit who cared and loved Yugi. However, Ryou's ring housed the spirit of a ruthless and quite unpredictable tomb robber.

" Answer me aboui! Am I trouble?" The voice hissed as the ring glowed and the spirit appeared before his gentle counterpart. ( Author's note: when Ryou and the spirit are together, the spirit is called "Bakura". When Ryou is with the others Ryou is called "Bakura", unless specified at other points in the story.)

Bakura snarled at Ryou. The spirit was a mirror image of Ryou except that his white hair was in a wild state and chaos was reflected in his eyes. 

"Well?"

Ryou bit his lip. Unlike Yugi's spirit, Yami, Bakura could be very mean and abusive to his hikari.

"No you're not." Ryou said gently. Bakura slammed him against the alley wall. 

"Don't lie to me!"

Ryou winced. 

" No, no my yami. You're not trouble. I was just thinking out how much trouble, Pegasus caused back at Duelist Kingdom. That's all." 

Bakura cocked his brow. He knew that Ryou was lying. The gentle boy had taken sudden interest in his shoelaces, as he had explained himself. However, the twisted Bakura enjoyed his dominance over sweet and gentle Ryou. 

"All right, Whatever. Stupid weakling." Bakura snarled as he disappeared back into the ring. Ryou sighed and thanked his stars that he had evaded Bakura's wrath. He gingerly brushed himself off and continued on his way.

It was dark as he moved away from the city and towards the housing developments.

"Almost home," He smiled to himself. "Now I can finally do my math homework."

//Count me out. I'm watching Buffy.//

Ryou smiled. Sometimes his yami could be nice. He rounded the corner and set into his neighborhood, gently humming a song.

Two hands grabbed the young boy from behind and dragged Ryou into the bushes.

"HEY!!" He cried as he was not to gently thrown to the ground. As he tried to orient himself, Ryou found the hands upon him once more now dragging the teen through the bushes.

"HEL-!" Ryou tried to scream, but a hand clamped its self over the boy's mouth. Ryou kicked and struggled with his attacker, but he could not squirm out of the vice like grip.

// RYOU!! WHATS GOING ON!!// Bakura yelled from within his soul room.

Ryou tried to answer his yami but he was thrown down once more to the floor of a dark thicket.

"All right, kid where is it?!" His attacker now identified as a male snarled.

Ryou stared up shakily at muscular thug who towered over him. "It"? What the hell was "it"? The teen had no idea what the man meant by it.

//RYOU!! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!// Bakura barked at his aboui. Again 

there wasn't a reply. Bakura snarled inwardly. Something was very wrong here.

Ryou laid on his back frozen in fear. 

" W-w-what... do you want?" 

The man stepped forward, revealing himself to be Kimo, one of Pegasus' thugs. Ryou tried to scramble away, but Kimo caught the boy by the pant leg.

"The Millennium Eye kid, you have it. GIVE IT TO ME!"

Ryou stared dumbfounded at Kimo. Him? He had stolen Pegasus' prized Millennium Eye? Ryou cursed inwardly. No, Bakura had stolen it. He must had temporarily possessed Ryou's body and taken the eye back at Duelist Kingdom.

Kimo snarled at the boy who was obviously too shock to respond. He slapped Ryou hard in the face.

"Where is it? I know you have it. I have security tapes to prove it. GIVE IT TO ME!!" 

Bakura growled and the Millennium Ring began to glow. Ryou may have been a 

sniveling weakling, but Ryou was HIS, and nobody beat up Ryou except him. The glow abated and Bakura smirked up at Kimo. The man was caught off guard as Bakura leapt up and slugged him.

"Don't fucking touch me!" The boy snapped.

Kimo winced, but then backhanded the teen to the ground once more.

Bakura landed with a thud.

"Foolish, mortal." He thought as he reached for his deck. Kimo was going to spend eternity in the shadow realm for this. Bakura felt inside his jacket pocket... and then felt around some more...and then some more, until the cold realization that Ryou had left the deck at home today crept over him. His only choice now was to flee. Bakura flung dirt into his opponent's eye and turned to run.

But Kimo was faster. He dodged the teen's assault and grabbed Bakura by the collar. 

"GIVE IT TO ME!" He said as he shook Bakura like a rag doll. 

Bakura kicked out at Kimo and put up a wild struggle.

"Make me, mortal!!"

Kimo pinned Bakura to the ground and whistled. The bushes rustled and more of 

Pegasus' thugs emerged. Bakura was surrounded.

"Look, kid give it to us, and we'll let you go." 

The tomb robber had no other choice. 

"All right." Kimo let him up but kept a firm grip on the boy's arm. 

"Its in the backpack. Front pocket; in the pencil sleeve." Bakura muttered. He had stored it there, because it would have been the last place anyone would have looked.

One of Kimo's men opened the front pocket and produced a small bundle, neatly 

wrapped in tissue paper. The thug handed it to Kimo, who took his attention off Bakura 

to open it. He tore of the paper and smiled at the golden trinket in his hand, the Millennium Eye.

Kimo roughly tweaked Bakura's ear. "Now was that so hard?" He smirked at the crossed teen.

"Foolish mortals, you shall pay for this." 

"I'm sure we will boy, but if you'll excuse us..." The guards advanced on Bakura. 

"We really must be going now. Master Pegasus misses his Eye." At Kimo's signal a guard knocked Bakura out with the butt of his gun. 

Bakura slumped to the ground motionless. 

"We'll give Master Pegasus your regards." The men vanished, leaving Bakura alone amongst the bushes.

An hour later, Bakura opened his eye, and the memories came flooding to him along with a very bad headache. The Eye was gone. He had lost his prize to a band of chump mortals.

Backura massaged the back of his throbbing head. It hurt, a lot. He winced and retreated back to his soul room, leaving Ryou on the ground to sleep it off. No doubt that the gentle boy would not remember what had happened, he never did. Which was a good thing, because no one could know about the Eye.

As Bakura sat in his soul room, thinking about his loss, he swore a thousand curses upon Pegasus. He had rightly claimed that Eye, and he would claim it again.


	2. Giving In

We now return you to the misadventures of the Bishi….when we last left Seto and Joey they had been taken captive by Bishi Girls Maria and Carolyn to their secret underground lair. We join our hotties as they attempt escape….  


S: Gimme a leg up, puppy…  
J: Wai? you're taller! 

S: Don't you question me!!

* Maria and Carolyn sneak up on them *

C: Where do you two think your going?  
S: We're leaving…  
M: But you're gonna miss the 2:30 Bishi worship  
J: But we all ready stayed for the 2:20 and 2:25 worship

C/M: o0….soooo….?

S: Doesn't matter we're going, bai you psychos…

M: 'Fraid we can't allow that

J: Dun care

C: Watch it bud we're armed…  
* Seto and Joey look at them. The girls are pointing their hands at them as if they were guns.*

S: 0.0… Right, we're going and we'll call the nice people in the white suites for you two..  
J: Hah…that's so wimpy..you actually think your hands are guns….  
* There is a 'bang' and a bullet embeds itself into the wall right by Seto*  
S/J: 0.0

J: How…  
M: We told you we're armed…  
S: But why can't we see the guns..its obvious that your holding something..

C: Oh yea that. That's because 4 Kids and Kids WB edited them out…

M: Kinda like what Speilburg did with the guns in ET…  
S/J: * in awe * OHHHHHH!!

C: Now get back in there!!! 

S/J: YESS'M!!!

C/M: BISHI!!! ^^

Okies…hehheeee…on with the story…

*****

Giving In

"You have to give Yug credit." Joey said to Honda as they watched as their small friend approached Seto Kaiba.

" Yeah, Yugi's been smacked down by Kaiba, and he's still trying to get Kaiba to be our friend." Honda replied.

"Would do that bastard some good." Their friend, Anzu snorted. Joey and Honda rolled their eyes and silently prayed that she would not launch into her "importance of having friends speech" for the billionth time.

They watched as Yugi approached the colde recluse form of Seto Kaiba. He was reading as he always did before class, the perfect shield from the burden of interacting with his classmates. He was well aware that Yugi was approaching him. The boy always did. Seto bristled as he watched Yugi move closer. Seto wasn't going to sink to Yugi's level.

_Why doesn't he get it? _Seto wondered. _Isn't my tolerating him enough?_

It was tru, Seto had been more tolerant of Yugi and his friends since their adventure at Duelist Kingdom. Sure, there were the occasional "puppy" cracks he made at Joey, but even those were becoming sparse. 

_ Why doesn't he just leave me alone? _The blue eyed teen snarled.

" Hey, Kaiba!" Yugi said cheerfully.

Seto didn't look up from his book. 

"Good Morning." He replied flatly.

" You it over here everyday by yourself. Wanna come over and sit on our side?" The smaller teen offered cheerfully.

_Why does he even bother_? Seto thought as he stared harder into the pages.

" Maybe tomarrow." He replied

" You said that yesterday."

" I know, I said 'maybe' remember?"

Yugi frowned. Why did Kaiba have to be so difficult. Kaiba owed Yugi his life. The least Seto could do was be nice.

"Class, please take your seat." The teacher said. Yugi gave Kaiba one more pleading look. Seto sighed and picked up his things and moved himself to the desk behind Yugi.

_Just this once, and maybe it'll shut him up for awhile. _He thought as he opened up his notebook. He leaned forward and poked Yugi.

" Don't get use to this." Seto hissed. Yugi nodded and turned around. He smiled inwardly to himself. It was progress.

" Class" The teacher began. " I have an important announcement.

The students hushed and looked up towards the teacher.

" Next week, after much debate with the headmaster, the school will be having a dance."

The class erupted into boisterous chatter. There hadn't been a dance at Domino High since..since forever. 

Only Seto was unfazed by the announcement.

_ Childish_. He thought.

After the class had settled the teacher began roll.

" Gardener?"

" Here."

"Kaiba?"

"Present."

Seto sighed. It was going to be a long day.

" Ryou?"

No reply. Joey turned to the seat behind him where Bakura usually sat.

" Where is Bakura Ryou?"

" We saw him last night. He didn't look sick." Honda said.

The teacher frowned and then carried on.

" Taylor?" 

" Here."

" Wheeler?"

" Ah'm here!" Joey replied brightly.

The lesson began and the class carefully took down their notes. About a half hour into the lesson, the door opened and Bakura shyly stepped in.

" Sorry I'm late." He said bowing to the teacher, " Car trouble." He then quickly walked to his seat. No one took absence to Bakura's black eye and the bruise on the side of his face.

" What happened to ya man?" Joey whispered.

Ryou had no idea what had happened to him last night.

" Umm..well, the bruise on the side of my face is from me falling out of bed this morning, as for the black eye…not too sure."

Yugi frowned. Whenever Bakura could not remember it was a good sign that his yami was the cause. But didn't Honda get rid of the ring? Perhaps, Bakura did have short-term memory loss due to all the beatings he had sustained from his darker side.

Bakura looked to his right and swallowed hard. Kaiba was sitting next to him.

"Since when…" He whispered to Joey.

"MR.RYOU!!" The teacher barked at Bakura. "If you are going to come to class late, and talk to Mr. Wheeler, then you should not have come at all!"

The whole class burst into laughter, as they watched the pale boy flush to a deep shade of red. He never got into trouble and was incredibly shy to begin with.

" 'EY!! KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!!" Joey snapped, defending his friend.

Joey on the other hand….

***

Thankfully, lunch came quickly. They all sat at the table, Bakura copying down Anzu's notes. He hadn't bothered to ask for Joey's. Joey basically doodled in English class. How the blond teen got such excelling grades was beyond him. Then again, Joey had an incredible imagination and was a great story teller.

"So you don't know where you got that black eye?" Anzu asked sweetly.

Bakura looked up and shook his head. He was tired of people asking him about his eye. Mrs. Tweed had fussed over him all night. Everyone seemed to believe that he was extremely fragile.

" I'm fine don't worry about me, Anzu."

Yugi looked around, looking for Kaiba. But the CEO was no where in sight. 

"Damn probably is hiding some place so I couldn't bug him about sitting with us." He said dejectedly. 

" Fugettaboutit Yug. If he wants to be a hard ass, let 'em. Don't beg him to be our friend, the almighty Kaiba come to us 'n beg." 

" Joey's got a point, Yug." Honda said as he bit into an apple.

" For once." Anzu smirked.

Yugi sighed. Joey did have a point, but Seto needed friends. 

" He needs friends guys. Its his pride that's stopping him." 

" Whatevah." Joey said as he eyed Honda's sandwich. " You gonna eat that bud?"

Yugi smiled at his friend, _Good 'ol Joey. _

Bakura placed the pencil down, " Done. Did I miss anything else?" 

" Nothing really. There's going to be a mixer next Friday" Replied Anzu as she slapped Joey's hand away from grabbing her bag of chips. 

Bakura's face brightened. " That's wonderful!" He hadn't been to a mixer in the longest time.

// What the hell is a mixer?// his yami muttered.

//Tell you later.// Ryou replied to his darker half.

There was a crash as, Honda and Joey lunged at each other. Apparently the two had gotten into another argument over something. Yugi, Anzu, and Bakura sighed, but they knew it would be over by the start of class.

***

Sure enough as they headed on the way to their next class, Joey and Honda were playfully shoving each other into the lockers, as they always did. The argument long forgotten. Yugi spotted Kaiba emerging from the library.

_So that's where he went_. Yugi thought as Kaiba sidled up behind them, but kept his distance. They filed into class, and took their seats. Kaiba, went and sat in his usual corner and pulled out his book. Yugi moved to get out of his seat and approach Kaiba, but Seto's blue eyes gave him a piercing look. "Don't-Even- Think- About- It" was read completely on Kaiba's stern face. Yugi took the hint and sat back in his seat.

// One class was enough for him today, my aboui.// Yugi smiled. Yami was finally up.

// Good morning, Yami, 'cept its 12'o clock in the afternoon.//

Yugi felt Yami smirk.

// Well, excuse me Yugi. I really don't know how one can function getting up so early. Its cruel. School should be left for the mid afternoon.//

// Not in this century, or this millennia Yami.//

" MR. MOUTO!!" Yugi jumped. He hadn't realized that class had started. 

"Yes, sir?" 

" If you had been paying attention, you would have realized that I had asked you a question."

" Sorry." // You got me in trouble Yami!//

// No, I didn't you didn't have to respond to me!//

" MR. MOUTO!!" The teacher barked angrily.

" Yes, sir sorry!!"

" Tell me Mr. Mouto, Who was the Egyptian god of the sun?"

//Osiris// Yami said.

"Osiris, Sir."

The teacher smiled, " Very good Mr. Mouto. Glad you have finally entered this plane of reality." 

The teacher turned and went on with the lesson.

// Thanks, Yami.//

// No problem.//

Yugi listened to the lesson with great interest, though he found it hard to suppress his smile each time Yami interjected with his opinions on the lecture.

// WHAT? Is he an idiot? Is this ALL that they know about ancient Egypt?…// or // I'm sure I was younger than Tut, when I ascended the throne.//

Yugi snickered // Yami. Things are lost over a period of five thousand years. This is all that they know from what has been preserved.//

Yugi felt Yami bristle. His other side could be very entertaining.

***

Seto walked up the marble steps of his mansion. It had been an extremely long day. He hated Fridays because his last two periods were free, which meant he had to go to Kaiba Corp two hours earlier than other days. He hated going on Fridays because he had to brave incredibly annoying meetings, and the even more annoying brown-nosers that he employed. Now that the day was finally over, he wanted nothing more than to get home and see his brother Mokuba. Since Duelist Kingdom, Seto if not already had become more obsessed in the protection of his baby brother.

He walked towards the wing of the mansion where he and Mokuba made their personal living quarters. They were only two boys and a small number of servants. How much space sis they really need?

" Mokuba! I'm home, kiddo!" He said as he set his brief case down. There wasn't a reply. Seto became worried. He started walking towards Mokuba's room.

_Probably has those damn headphones on._ He though as he pushed Mokuba's door open. He scanned the large room that was littered with cds, pokemon figurines, duel monster cards, digimon action figures and other numerous things.

" Mokuba?" Again, no reply. Seto became worried. Since they had gotten back, Mokuba was always lying in wait to pounce on his brother when he came home from work. 

Seto walked quickly down the hallway ready to call security, when he spotted two pairs of small shoes. One pair he recognized the others were alien.

_Oh yea, his friend. _ Seto had forgotten that Taro, Mokuba's friend from school was over to play. With his fears clamed, Seto walk to his room. Once there he relieved himself of his school uniform and changed into loose, but professional clothing and set of to his den to work on a n up and coming project.

***

Seto opened one eye. He had fallen asleep while glancing over a proposal for a new duel disk system. He yawned sleepily and stretched. It was too easy to slow down in his den. It was a high vaulted room with large windows that seemed to stretch towards the heavens. The room was elegantly decorated in blacks and silvers; He had since purged the room of the last remnants of his adoptive father, Gozoburo. All that remeained was a large black marble fire place that has his "father's" name engraved on it.

_Have to get that filed off…_ He thought quietly to himself.

He stared blankly, daydreaming, his thought going a thousand times around the world. Seto slapped himself and brought him back to the den. He had to stop doing that. He had been distracted all week, he couldn't get Yugi and his friend out of his head. Why was he obsessed with them all of a sudden? Sure he teased and bullied them, but did he really get anything out of it? He managed to get under Joey's skin with the "puppy" cracks, but even torturing the loudmouth blond didn't satisfy him. He felt empty, something was missing.

Seto yawned once more and put his head down on the desk. Whatever it was it was taking a toll on teen. What was it?

Outside the den, he heard a faint cry. Seto snapped to attention, and waited. The cry came again and he lept beyond the desk and went to one of the windows, and flung open the curtain; searching for the source of the noise. He then saw Mokuba in the backyard with Tarro engaged in a heated game of tag. It wasn't a cry he had heard, it was laughter. 

Seto watched the expressions on the children's faces. Sweet and happy. In fact Seto could not remember that last time he had seen Mokuba having so much fun. A sharp pain tore at his stomach, the blue-eyed teen winced and clutched his stomach. The pain was intense, one he knew too well. A pain that came when he was anxious or unsure of himself. He leaned against the wall holding his stomach trying to suppress the pain and pull himself back together. Once it had subsided, Seto knew why that pain had come, what had caused it. His need for friendship. He had denied his feelings for too long. He wanted friends. It was a craving that burned with in him, but his pride and arrogance had pushed it down to the depths of his soul. His brother had friends, and he did not, and when it was extended to him he pushed it away. Why was he like this? 

_I must always be there for him. I have no time for petty things like friends. Mokuba is my priority._ He frowned and realized how stupid his reasoning was. He used to have friends at the foster home, but even there it was every kid for himself. He shut his eyes sadly when he remembered why he had lost them.

_I lost them because everyone wanted me, but I turned every offer down because they wouldn't take me and Mokuba. Because I didn't want to be separated from my family._

He could still see the animosity in their faces, how they shunned him after he had turned away another family, when they so desperately wanted to be adopted. His friends turned on him, verbally and often physically abusing Seto. Then he was adopted my Gozoburo, who inflicted so many years on pain and torment upon him, which hardened his heart to everyone except Mokuba. He wasn't allowed friends, because Gozoburo said t would make him weak. But now the monster was gone and Seto was free. Why shouldn't he have friends now?

_Because I'm too proud._ He thought _My pride gets in the goddamned way all the time because I think everything is beneath me._

Seto glanced again at his brother. The boy looked so happy, running around and playing as a ten year old should. He then looked at his surrounding and frowned. What normal fifteen year old sat around worrying about stock options and running a billion dollar corporation? HE sighed heavily and closed his eyes. His youth had been stolen from him. Mokuba had been young , so most of his innocence was still intact. Seto's was in shreds. He had seen his parents die, had taken beatings, and was abused by Gozoburo; was forced to grow up.

Seto stared some what enviously at his brother. Mokuba looked so bright and happy. Joy fully expressed in his gray-blue eyes. Seto sighed heavily and remained transfixed starring at the fun the two boys were having. He wanted it badly. Memories deep with thin him of his friends before he lost them came back to him. Friendship. He missed it. He missed the fun, the security, the happiness. How he desperately wanted it all back.

_You have no time for weakness, Seto_ A voice within him said. _ You only have time for Mokuba and Kaiba Corp. Nothing else._

Seto growled. Damn him why was he like this? Why did his pride get in the way? He gripped the curtain, and looked once more at his brother. Still the boys face was full of joy, and Seto wanted that joy. He flung open the curtain and allowed the afternoon sun to spill into the dark depths of the room. He suddenly felt better and leaned contentedly against the windowsill watching Tarro and Mokuba play. He found himself smiling at their antics, and for the first time in a long while, enjoying himself. 

_Perhaps its time, to give friendship another try._

****

EEE!! Omg I'm a spaz!! I love Seto so much!! So mizundastood, so conflicted…*hops around*   
  
S: 0.o….  
M: C'MERE YOU!! YA NEEDS A HUG!!* grabs Seto into a bone crushing bear hug** ***

S: MY…BACK!!!!!!! 0.0

Hehehe..okies..expect next update this weekend!! Hopes yas liked this installment!!! Please R and R!!!

S: …*twitch* *weakly *…medic…..


	3. Brave New World

And..now…The mis-adventures of the Bishies..hehehe…

*Seto and Joey are sitting against the wall watching the girls lavish attention on Bakura.*

M: CUTE WITTLE BISHI!!!

B: #^. ^#

C: Yous gots pwetty eyes!!  
B: Aww..shucks… * blushes deeply *

M: Eee!! Wuv your accent…

J: I gots an' accent too… 0.0

* girls ignore him *

C: Sucha cutie!!

J: I'm cute too….

M: * hugs Bakura *

J: 0.0 HEY!! JOEY'S HERE TOO!!  
S: I can't believe you..you're jealous?

J: ..no…#-.-#

S: Hey why are you two going after him now?

M: Because he's a good Bishi and didn't try and run…

J: I'm not bad!!  
C: You misbehaved.

S: …Wait you guys like bad Bishis…I'm bad ;) 

C: No, you're just misunderstood and lash out a people.

B:….I have a bad side..wanna see? * turns into Yami Bakura*

M/C: BWEEEEEE EVIL BISHI!!! * glomps Yami Bakura *

S: meh..twits…

J: Guys…I'm bad…look…oh…* sniffs *.I need a hug.. * pouts *

***

Brave New World

The next week at Domino High was an interesting one. There was a heightened attitude in the school about the up coming dance, and a change occurred. The change occurred Monday morning before History. Yugi and his friends came in early as they usually did in hopes of getting a few rounds of Duel Monsters in.

" Yeah, can't wait for Friday, you guys!! The ladies will be all over me!!" Joey said as he walked into the classroom.

" Yeah, after they've pushed you over, you'll make the perfect dance floor!" Honda snickered at his friend.

Joey snarled. " Wanna say that again, tough guy?" He said as he put his fists up. Honda grinned evilly and took a battle stance."

" Bring it on…PUPPY!"

" DATS IT!!" Joey lunged at Honda, and the two began to fight.

" Great, here they go again." Anzu sighed, as she pulled Bakura out of the crossfire.

Yugi rolled his eyes and began to plead with his two friends to end their dispute.

" Come on guys, If the teacher sees you two fighting, you'll both get detentions!!" Bakura pleaded.

" Please. Don't stop them. I need a little entertainment this morning."

The five teens turned to see Seto Kaiba standing behind them. 

_Shit. Tell me that I did not just say that._ Seto said as he mentally kicked himself on the head. He was supposed to be making friends, not ostracizing them.

__

:Well, if it a'int the all mighty Kaiba." Joey snarled.

Seto ignored the comment and strode past them into the classroom, where he took his seat in the desk behind Yugi's, and took out his book.. Yugi and his friends exchanged looks of surprise and then filed into the classroom. Joey approached Seto.

" Uhhh..Kaiba? Are you feelin' okay? I mean your sitting on our side of the room. Ya neva sit with us unless Yug begs ya too."

Seto looked up at the blond. He was irritated by Joey's comment. He was sitting with them, wasn't that supposed to make them happy? Before he could stop himself, his cynical attitude countered.

"Shut up, Puppy. I'm trying to enjoy a work of liturature. Do you even know what that is?"  
_Crap! WHY did I say that!_ Seto moaned inwardly, he probably just lost his chance again.

"Joey couldn't even spell 'liturature'!" Honda snickered.

" CAN SO!!" Joey snapped at his friend. Seto breathed a sigh of relife and turned back to his book, thankful that the attention was off of him, and now on Joey.

" Lessee…umm… L. I. T.R….no that's not it…L. I. T.E…No, no..dats not right either…"

"Class, take your seats" The teacher said as she walked into the room.

" L. I…."

"That means you too, Mr. Wheeler."

Joey turned a deep shade of red. " Sorry, 'mam!" and took his seat.

***

The morning hours went by unusualy fast for a Monday, and lunch had come quickly.

//What is Joey doing now, aboui?// a bemused Yami asked.

/Nothing much, he's trying to spell 'liturature.'/

// Ah. How long has this been going on?//

/ Oh, since this morning./

Yugi watched as Seto walked by.

"HEY KAIBA!" Yugi waved happily at the young CEO. Seto walked by with out even akknowleging Yugi.

"Well that was quite rude." Bakura said as he bit into an apple.

" You can't expect him to change over night." Anzu sighed.

"But he did sit with us during class." The white haried teen pointed out.

" He sat NEAR us…not WITH us."

" What's the difference?" exclaimed Bakura. Yugi just sat there and stared at Joey and Honda. Why was Kaiba being that way? Yugi sighed and began to play with his food.

"JOEY! Give it up already!" Honda said with a sneer. " You've proven that you can't spell it!"

" TAKE DAT BACK!" Joey said as he flicked a spoonful of peas at Honda. Honda lunged at the blond boy.

"Here they go again…." Bakura sighed.

***

The next few days, Seto did the same thing. He sat with them in every class. He was very mindful of his sharp tongue, and tried hard to repress the cynical and sarcastic comments that had become habit to him. One particular morning that week, the teacher was no where to be found. So the teens took the liberty to do whatever they wanted ( Seto of course sat and read). A morning without the teacher was a rare opportunity and they were planing to enjoy every minute of it.

//Yugi where is the teacher?// Yami asked in an annoyed tone.

/ I dunno, I think she's late. By the way you're up early./

// Well with all this racket…// Yami muttered irritably. Yugi smiled at his yami, and turned to speak with Seto. Even though he was sitting with them in class, Seto hadn't spoken much to them.

"Yes?" Seto said, actually looking up from his book.

"Set…I mean Kaiba, I think its cool that you're sitting with us." Yugi beamed at the taller boy. 

" Umm..yeah it is kinda cool." He answered.

There was an awkward silence.

" You wanna come and sit with us at lunch?"

Seto looked back down at his book. " Umm…we'll see Yugi." 

Yugi smiled, "Okay Kaiba." He turned and left to go visit with Anzu and Bakura.

_ Lunch? Great._ Seto muttered to himself. He could tell that Yugi wanted him to join him and his friends, but the others…

_Don't be intimidated by those sorry excuses for…_ Seto caught himself before he could finish the thought. _ Gotta stop thinking like that, unless I want to turn out to be like Gozaburo…_..

" 'EY!!!! CUT IT OUT!!"

Joey's voice intterupted Seto's train of thought. Apparently the loud-mouth had managed to get into an argument with Duke Devlon's cheerleaders.

" GO CHOKE ON A BONE PUPPY!!" One of the cheerleaders sneered.

"AH'M NOT A DAWG!" Joey shouted back.

"YEAH, WHY DON'T YOU GO INTO YOUR DOG HOUSE!!" Another chimed in.

" I said, KNOCK IT OFF, ALREADY!!" Joey snarled as he clenched his fists. One the cheerleaders bopped Joey on the head with her pompom,

" BAD PUPPY!! YOU NEED A MUZZLE!!" She said.

"Why I otta…"

"PUPPY! PUPPY! JOEY IS A PUPPY!!" The three began to chant.

Enraged, Joey jumped at the cheerleaders, "YOU LOUSY!!.." Before he could get any further, Honda, Bakura, and Yugi managed to grab a hold of him.

"Lemme GO! I can take 'em" He said as he wriggled in his friends' grasp. The Cheerleaders laughed at this and began to chant louder. Joey growled and tried and to break through his friends' hold. Meanwhile, Anzu was throwing pens and pencils at the cheerleaders, but they effectively blocked the barrage of missiles with their pom-poms. 

The whole class was now in an uproar. Some kids were supporting the cheerleaders by making barking noises, others were telling them to shut up. The last percentage took up Anzu's example and began throwing pens and pencils at Joey and the Cheerleaders.

"PUPPY, PUPPY!!" The chanting continued, and the noise in the classroom was getting louder and louder by the second.

"SHUT UP!" The whole class went silent. All eyes were on Seto Kaiba. They all stood rooted in their places as they stared up at the blue-eyed teen. Seto rarely spoke in class but when he did, everyone listened.

" You all are a bunch of immature asses." He said snarling at the kids who had been throwing pens and pencils. Anzu sheepishly his hers behind her back. Seto's cold eyes flew to the kids who had been supporting the cheerleaders.

" .. a bunch of sniveling, worthless bunch of sheep." The teens shrank under Seto's piercing gaze.

" And you three," He snarled at the cheerleaders, who were now clutching each other fearfully.

"I'm the only one who can call, Joey "puppy." There was a snicker, but Seto silenced it with a stare from his ice blue eyes. He turned back to the cheerleaders.

"Why don't you three sluts, do us all a favor and go jump off the bleachers and leave Joey alone."

The class remained transfixed by the taller teen. He glared at them all and then turned and walked away. The cheerleaders burst into tears ( ANIME WATERFALL TEARS!! ^^ ), and the class began to talking in an excited, but moderate tone so that they wouldn't summon Kaiba's wrath again. Seto went back to his seat, picked up his book, and resumed reading as if nothing had happened at all.

Joey stood with his jaw dropped. He was in a total state of shock.

" What-what Just 'appened?.." 

Yugi stared at the silent form of Seto Kaiba.

" I dunno Joey, but I think he just stood up for you."

***

Seto walked down the hall towards the library, his haven. Lunch was next period, and he had to decide if her was going to eat with Yugi. He was split down the middles. One side of him wanted to go very badly. He had never eaten with anyone at lunch this year and he was curious. But he was going to be eating with Yugi, the only person who had beaten him at Duel Monsters. Everyone knew about that, and it was good ammunition to be used against him. But then again, he owed Yugi. Yugi had saved both his and Moukba's lives. Plus, no matter what Seto did or said to Yugi, the boy had always ready to receive Seto with open arms.

Seto sighed and put his head down on the carol. It was so confusing. Why was this taking so much effort?

_I'm starting to crack. First I sit with Yugi, now I'm standing up for Joe. I'm getting weak…_ Seto shuddered, there was his damn arrogance again.

_The rate I'm going, my pride and arrogance are going to be the only friends I have besides Mokuba._

"Kaiba?" Seto's blues snapped open.

" You sleepin'?"

Seto turned and looked at the figure behind him. It was Joey.

"What do you need?" Kaiba answered some what warily.

" Well, I just wanted to say…" Joey looked nervously down at the floor. "What I wanted to say was..uumm…"

"Feel free to finish your sentence anytime Joey." _ Shit, why did I say that? _Outwardly Kaiba smirked, inwardly he was hitting his head against a wall.

"Hey! I'm tryin' here. Its just a little..uum…hard…for me.." Joey exclaimed as he awkwardly shifted his weight from one side to the other, and blushed sheepishly at the taller boy. Seto raised his eyebrow and then smirked.

"Okay here it goes. Take a deep breath. Yan can do dis.." Joey mumbled to himself.

"Joey….are you talking to me or to the voices…." Thankfully, Seto caught himself in time. 

__

Don't want to screw this up. 

Joey, however was oblivious that he had even spoken his thoughts out loud. He looked down at Seto, who was surprisingly waiting patiently for Joey to speak.

" Heh, sorry. I was just speakin' to da voices in my head." He grinned at the blue eyed teen.

Seto smirked, "That's what I thought."

"'EY!" Joey growled. 

"May I remind you gentlemen that you are IN a library?" An irate librarian said leaning over her desk at them.

" Sorry." Both boys said with sheepish expressions.

"Anyway Kaiba, I just wanted to say 'thank you.' So… thanks for helping me out dis morning. I needed it." The last part was mumbled slightly, but Seto caught it.

"What was that last thing you said? I didn't catch it." Seto had no expression on his face but his eyes held a slight twinkle of mischief. 

" Its not important Kaiba. Just fuggetaboutit." Joey said flashing his trademark grin.

"So anyways, ya hungry? 'Cause I'm famished."

"Joey?"  
"Yeah?"

"Can you spell 'famished'?" Seto asked innocently.

"Sure I….aw no, I'm not fallin' for dat again." Joey laughed. Seto grinned back at the blond. Joey started walking away, but then turned.

" Ey! You coming or what?" he called back to Seto.

"Mr.WHEELER! LEAVE. NOW!" The librarian snapped.

"Yess'um. Right away!" Joey said as he snapped a salute to the librarian. 

Seto couldn't keep a smile from escaping. He really envied Joey's ability to be cheerful no matter what the situation.

"Earth to Seto Kaiba! Ya coming? Joey asked impatiently. Seto looked to his book, then at Joey, and then back again at his book. Should he go?

__

He wants your company, go on…no if others see me with him…grrr.to hell what people think you want friends..don't you? 

Seto stared once more at the book on the carol and then back at Joey. He took a deep breath, stood up, and walked up to Joey.

"Heh, took you long enough." Joey said with a grin.

Seto smirked back at him, and the two left for lunch.

To be continued….

***

OMG SETO!! Awww..sooo kawaii!! Yesh I know I'm evil to end it here but next chappie..GONNA BE SO COOL!! Hehehee the dance is coming up for Seto.. * DUN DUN DUUUN * Will Seto go or is he going to be a butt and not go…  


S: ….uumm… I know…I'M NOT GONNA GO ^^

M: …Yeah you are!! You can dance with JOEY!!!

J/S: HELL NO!!

C: Yah, Maria keep it clean you Yaoi freak!!..'sides SETOS GONNA DANCE WITH ME!!  


M: FINE * grabs Joey and Bakura * Have Seto,..us three are going to have a freak dancing chain ^^ 

J/B: 0.o …

Hehhe see yas laters folks…


	4. Friends

Okies kiddies today's torture session for our favorite bishis will take place at mine and Carolyn's small private school in DC. Today's episode will feature Yami and Seto…yes I know, how did we get Yami?

Y: Give me back my aboui!

M: We will ya just gotta go ta school first…  


* Yugi's in a closet *   
Yu: YAMI!! HELP ME!!!

Y: Grr..FINE!! I' WILL DO ANYTHING TO HELP MY HIKARI! I WILL FIGHT WHATEVER ODDS TO UNDO THE EVIL YOU HAVE BESTOWED UPON HIM. HE WILL NO LONGER SUFFER AT YOUR HANDS…

C: Oh my god, all she did was give him candy…

Y: …0o..really? Then why is he in the closet…  
M: Good question…  
Yu: I came in here to get my jacket and the door closed and..umm…

Y: .AND..?

Yu: …I can't reach the door handle…

* Sweat drops all around *

M: Okies you and Seto and all the other Bishis have to go to school…except Quatre and Bakura…because they've been good.

Q/B: ^^ we got chocolate….

C: Okies no then you guys gotta get going or else you miss you car pool and get a big fat detention!  
Bishis: This is so stupid…  
M: Oh and one more thing…* holds up some packages* You almost for got you uniforms!!!  
Seto: WTF? We're not wearing uniforms

J: yeah..I'm not wearing some ugly ass pair of pants..

C: …pants?

M: teehee…you guys are going to a GIRL SCHOOL…you're not wearing pants…

Bishis: WHAT!?

* Carolyn and Maria show them the uniform, an ugly gray skirt, blue turtle neck shirt, blue knee highs and black Dr. Martins *

Wufei: THOSE ARE ONNA CLOTHES!!

M: Yeah…you guys are going to AN ALL GIRLS SCHOOL!!! Now put them on…  
Seto: * Runs out of the room * HAH!!, YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!  
J: Pfft…Weirdo..here gimme da clothes. Ah'll wear 'em if it means being away from you two psychos for a few hours…

The other bishis relize this and put on the uniform*  
Wufei: HAH!! Maxwell, you look like a school girl with that braid!!  
* Duo tries to jump him*  
C: Okies now now..come on get in the car, we'll stop at starbucks if your good…  
* all the bishies get in the car* Maria comes out dragging Seto*  
S: NOOOOOOO!!! LET GO IF MY BROTHER SEES ME LIKE THIS….!!!  
M: Heh, it'll make up for the fact that you modeled a female character off of him in that virtual game of yours…  
* Stuffs Seto into the car*  
M: Have a good day at school boys!!!!!!  
* Carolyn backs out of the drive way and speeds off, taking out a couple mailboxes and trash cans * 

At school:

Headmisstress: MR. WUFEI..WHY IN GOD'S NAME IS YOUR SKIRT THAT SHORT?

W: Because I want it to be that short, you stupid Onna…  
H: Okay, you * grabs Wufei by the ear * You just got your self a weeks worth of detention…* drags him off *   
W: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Hehe, okies I think its time to start the story….hehehe hopes yas likes it!!

****

Friends

The next few days were the happiest Seto had experienced in a while. He sat with Yugi and the others in class and at lunch. He had become more vocal in his classes and much more talkative. There was still an awkwardness when it came to Duel Monsters, but the teens mutually avoided the topic.

On Thursday it was raining and Seto could not walk home with his new friends, since they had to take the bus and he took his limo. Seto never went to Kaiba Corp. on Thursdays, it was the only day of the week he and Mokuba had to themselves to be brothers.

Seto sat on the couch working on a creative writing assignment, while Mokuba watched Pokemon (quite possibly his favorite thing next to Duel Monsters). Seto glanced up from his paper to watch his brother who was currently laughing at Brock who had just been rejected by Nurse Joy who was the 2nd cousin twice removed from the Nurse Joy they had met in another town. Seto smiled to himself and returned back to his work. Just then the phone rang, Seto picked it up.

"Hello?" He answered.

" Hey is this Seto?" It was Anzu.

" Hello, Anzu. How can I help you?"

" You sound like sucha businessman all the time Seto." Anzu giggled. Seto smirked.

"Anyway," She continued "Do you know when our paper for English is due?" 

Seto wondered why Anzu was calling him and not Yugi or the one of the others.

" I tired to call Yugi but his grandfather said he was out, and forget Joey or Honda."

Seto chuckled it was as if Anzu had read his mind.

"Its die on Monday, Anzu."

" Thanks so much!!"

Seto was ready to wrap things up on the phone, but Anzu continued.

" Are you going to the dance tomorrow?"

Seto felt his stomach churn, he hadn't considered going to the dance.

" Umm…." He couldn't think of an excuse

"Come on it'll be fun!" She said cheerfully. He shuddered, this was going too fast for him. First he was simply sitting with them now they wanted to do stuff outside of school with him.

_Remember…you want FRIENDS!! _

"Ummm…it depends on what my schedule after school looks like. I may have to attended a dinner meeting at Kaiba Corp. for a new duel disk system…but I'm not too sure if its this week…"

" Oh, okay! Well, I hope you can come! Thanks again, Seto. Goodnight!!"

Seto hung up the phone and stared at his paper.

_Hope you can come!_ No one in Seto's memory had ever uttered those four words to him. He was for once wanted. Should he go?

__

"You gonna go to that dance, big brother?" Mokuba asked not prying his eyes away from the tv screen

Seto sighed. He wasn't going to go. He may be making friends, but he was ready to fully submit to being a teenager.

" No. Tomorrow's free, and I thought that we could just hang out and watch movies or something."

" Seto! Go to the dance. Yugi's trying to be your friend! They all seem to like you."

" But what will you do? I don't want to leave you home alone."

" I won't be alone, Tarro can come over, and besides how many servants and guards do we have? I'll be fine. Come on brother, go have some fun."

_There's that blasted word again._ Seto moaned inwardly.

__

"Mokuba…."

Mokuba turned and looked at his older brother, his blue-grey eyes piercing Seto's cobalt. 

" SETO! Go to the dance!" The little one said with an intense glare. The older stood stunned by the coarsness of his younger brother.

"Please? For me?"

Seto looked at his baby brother, it was obvious that Mokuba wanted him to have some fun.

"Alright." He said quietly

Mokuba's expression became joyful. "YAY!! MY BROTHER'S GOING TO A DANCE!!!" he cheered.

Seto smiled gently at his brother. "Are you sure you'll be all right…"

"I'm sure!" The younger boy said cheerfully.

"Fine." He said and turned back to his writing.

***

Seto lay awake in his bed. It was past midnight and he could not sleep. He tossed and turned restlessly amongst the silk sheets of his enormous bed. No matter where he laid or how her positioned himself, nothing seemed comfortable.

_Why can't I sleep_? He wondered, as he flipped himself onto his side. _I'm so tired._

He gazed up at his bedroom window. It was a clear night, the moon was big and bright. Seto watched the moon, his thoughts escaping to the stars. His eyes began to droop, and a sweet wave of relaxation came over him. Seto yawned and nestled deeper into his pillow. Sleep was finally upon him. 

As Seto was just about to surrender to the intoxicating allure of sleep, his bedroom door creaked open. With the hold upon him shattered, sleep left as quickly as it had came. Seto's sat up, his blue eyes focusing on the door.

" S-seto?" A soft whisper came. Seto sighed, it was Mokuba.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

Mokuba came over to the edge of Seto's bed, his head was down and the smaller boy seemed to be holding back tears.

"Mokuba? What's wrong?" Seto said in a comforting voice as he leaned over to place a hand on his brother's shoulder.

The smaller boy hiccuped and then whimpered. "I-I had the dream again." Mokuba said in a choked whisper.

Seto frowned. Mokuba had been having a lot of nightmares lately, and a particular nightmare had continued to plague the young boy. With out a word, Seto pulled back his bed covers and moved over. Mokuba took up the invitation and happily climbed into his brother's bed. Seto smiled as Mokuba settled himself next to his brother.

" 'Night Seto." He said with a yawn.

" Good night little one." Seto said gently. 

Mokuba was asleep in seconds. Seto smirked and wished he could fall asleep just as fast, but there was so much on his mind. He was becoming worried about his brothers nightmares, and he wondered if the dreams were a result of Mokuba's imprisonment in the shadow realm.

The dream that his brother kept having involved a raging fire. Seto was trapped within fire and Mokuba saw himself asleep in his bed, unable to hear Seto's frantic cries for help. Then Seto was engulfed by the flames, screaming in pain the flames rising higher and higher around the bed. The last thing that happened at the end of the dream was the Mokuba could hear Pegasus' insane laughter.

Seto sighed and laid on his side, absently playing with a few strands of Mokuba's raven black hair. He decided to keep watch over his sleeping brother, his thoughts were running a mile a minute and he was too restless to sleep.

" And then, there is that damn dance." He muttered

***

Seto blinked groggily in class the next day. He was exhausted. Mokuba had whimpered and cried all night in his sleep. All Seto could do was gently rub his brother's back and whisper comforting words. 

" Mr. Kaiba? Are you paying attention?" Seto looked up.

"Yes sir." He lied

"If you were could you then answer the question I just asked you?"

Seto stared at the irrate teacher. " Ummm…." Was all he could say.

The teacher sighed and shook his head, " I asked you, 'Who was the Egyptian ruler who had a deep influence on Roman/Egyptian politics?"

"Cleopatra." Yugi whispered.

Seto answered the question. The teacher nodded and turned back to the lesson.

" Thankks." He whispered to Yugi.

" Don't thank me, thank Yami."

// Phe, that skank ruined Egypt.// Yami muttered to his hikari. Yugi snickered.

Meanwhile, in the seat behind Seto, Bakura was also speaking to his aboui.

// Man, I don't know what Yami is saying to Yugi, but DAMN she was hot…easy as hell but….//

Ryou blushed a deep scarlet at what his darker side told him next. He wished that his yami wouldn't be graphic…especially when it came to his past relationships…  
***  
"So what are you guys wearing tonight?" Yugi asked Joey, Honda, Bakura, and Seto as they changed for gym.

"I dunno Yug. Aren't chics the ones who usually worry about dis stuff?" 

"I was just asking." Yugi said as he pulled his gym shirt over his head.

" What are you wearin' Seto." Joey asked.

Seto froze. What WAS he going to wear? True, he dressed in impeccable flare, but his wardrobe consisted of his school uniforms and his business suits. He had nothing that a regular teenager would wear. 

" Um..not sure yet." He answered. He prayed that others would start talking about their clothes, so he could get a sense of what normal teens would wear.

" I'm probably going to wear my jeans and a top." Bakura said cheerfully.

"I hope you wear something. We don't want you to turn up naked." Honda snickered.

" HAR. HAR." Bakura said flatly. 

Seto thought for a second. Jeans. Those were ok, a little too casual for his liking, bit if it was what everyone else was wearing….Wait, did he even own a pair of jeans? He mentally went over his entire wardrobe and concluded that he did not. 

_ Guess I'm making a stop at the mall after school._ He thought.

***

" How do I look?" Seto said as he stepped out of his bathroom.

Mokuba, who was sitting on Seto's bed playing with his gameboy, looked up at his brother. He hadn't seen Seto dressed this casual since their foster home days.

" Well?" the teen inquired.

He was wearing tight washed out blue jeans, and a black short-sleeved, v-neck collared shirt.

" You look great, big brother!!" 

Seto smirked, "So do I pass for your teenage brother?"

"Yeah, but one thing." Mokuba slid off the bed and pulled the neatly tucked in shirt out of Seto's pants.

"Now you look even better!!" The younger boy beamed. 

" Thanks." Seto said gentle smile.

"You better get going your gonna be late, Seto!!"

To be continued…

Hehehehe..I know I know..CLIFF HANGER!! Next chappie is the dance…its gonna be great! Hope ya liked this chappie!!


	5. The Dance

Okies, NOW is our episode with Seto and Yami! Hehehe..yeah..sorry about that folks. Oh and yes to all you reviewers who pointed out, Ra is the God of the sun…why I put Osiris I will never know…shame on me. Thanks to all the peeps that pointed that out. ^^

Its torture time with everyone's favorite bishis, SETO AND YAMI!!!

S/Y: * Unenthusiastically * Weee…

Right, todays episode will take place in Carolyn and Maria's Spanish 4 class.

S: Por que? Por Que? Por Que Dio?   
_Translation: Why? Why? Why God Why?_

Y: What are you muttering about? At least you can understand the damn language.

Senora: Hola clase! Hoy dia nosotros practicamos los superlativos!

_Translation: Hello class, today we will practice our superlatives._

Y: * nudges random girl * What the heck did she just say?

RG: I dunno, but you are cute ^^  
Y: * sweat drops * Umm…riiight…ok..thanks  
* class begins to practice their spanish outloud. *

* Yami looks over and notices that Seto looks like he is in extreme pain. *

Y: You ok?

S: (through clentched teeth) No…the accents..OH GOD THE ACCENTS!!

Y: Whats..wrong with the accents…  
S: They're so…soo…* shudders * AMERICAN!! Why can't they pronounce foreign words right? IS IT TOO MUCH OF AN EFFORT.

M: ..Yeah.

Senora: NINOS!! DUESPUES DE LA CLASE TIENEN DENTENCIONES!!

_BOYS!! AFTER CLAS YOU HAVE DETENTIONS!!_

Y/S: * mutters * Crapo…

***  
On the next episode, Wufei and Malik will brave Maria and Carolyn's Great Christian Epics class. Where they are unfortunately studying Dante's Divine Comedy. 

Malik and Wufei: EEP!! * run away *

S/Y: Oh no you don't we had to sit through a class, and you guys are gonna suffer too.

* Seto drags them off towards the classroom *  
W: TRAITOR!! INJUSTICE!!!  
S: Shuddap….  
***

Hehhehe…and now on with the story!! ITS DANCING TIME!! C'MON EVERYONE ITS TIME TO CUT LOOSE!! Hehehehe … * all the bishis run and hide*   
C: You scared them off!!   
* Bakura walks up* I'll dance with you, Carolyn ^^  
* Carolyn and Bakura walk off to the dance floor *

M: 0.0 who am I gonna dance with… * evil grin * * grabs JW * WHEEE!!  
JW: ^^ YAY!! I've always wanted to dance with you!! * they run off to dance *

***

Dancin' the night away…

_What the HELL was I thinking!_ Seto thought as he stared at the doors of the gym. He could hear the pulsing music and laughter of the students on the other side. Fleeting thoughts of getting back into the limo and driving around for three hours tempted him.

_No, I told Mokuba I'd go…so here I am. _ He reluctantly reached for the gym door's handle, but then stopped. Getting in the car right now, really sounded good. He was about to turn away, when someone called out to him.

" 'Ey! Seto! You gonna go in or stand there all night?" Seto turned and saw Joey, Yugi, Anzu, Honda, and Bakura.

_Damn._ " Yes, Joey I'm going in. Eventually. I just need to finish an argument with myself."

Joey beamed, "Heh. I get it! Da little voice in your head, won't shuddap 'eh?"

* sweat drops all around. *

" Umm..yeah." Seto sighed.

" Feel free to ignore Joey, Seto. He goes off into his own little world sometimes. Who knows when he'll come back." Honda snickered. 

The group laughed, and Joey thumped Honda hard on shoulder. 

" Fun-NEY." Joey snarled.

While, Honda had been insulting Joey ( again. ) Seto had glanced around and noticed what everyone else was wearing and breathed a sigh of relief, and he looked somewhat similar to everyone else…with the exception of Bakura.

Anzu was wearing a stone washed jean skirt that came to the top of her knees, a purple halter-top and high-heeled boots. Honda had on khaki pants and a hunter green top that was similar to Seto's, except it was a button down shirt. Joey, ( who was still talking about the little voices ) was wearing loose faded jeans, a dark blue oxford with a white shirt on the inside. Yugi had on dark indigo washed jeans, and a short-sleeved gray shirt. Seto's eyes stopped at Bakura. His outfit was very unexpected for a shy and seemingly pure boy. Bakura was wearing, tight, tight black jeans, and an equally tight black muscle tee. 

" Don't ask. Apparently my yami dressed me." Bakura said in response to the eyebrows that had raised in response to his outfit.

"How did that happen?" Yugi asked.

"Well, I remember getting out of the shower and then I was running out the door because I was going to be late to meet you guys." Bakura said sheepishly.

" Thankfully, I managed to remove the leather collar." He said turning a deep shade of red.

Curious glances passed from each of the teens, all were trying hard not to laugh.

" Hey, what are we standing around here for? Lets get inside!!" Yugi said as he opened the door. The teens nodded in agreement and followed the shorter boy in.

The gym was alive with music and dancing. The music's beat was pulsing, and strobe lights flashed around in synchronized patterns. In the center of the gym there was a huge disco ball suspended from the ceiling. It effectively reflected the lights sending them bouncing across the room.

"Its so pretty!" Anzu squealed.

All the guys rolled their eyes at her.

// What the fuck is going on with the lights in here, Ryou?// Bakura said in surprise.

/ 'What the fuck is going on with the lights?' How about what the hell, is going on with my clothes Bakura!/ Ryou hissed back.

// You look cute!// Bakura said with what Ryou felt was a grin.

Ryou felt Bakura do a double take. // HEY!! WHERES THE COLLAR?? Put it back on you little wimp!//

/ No. I draw the line at certain points./

Joey looked at Bakura. "Heh, I guess Bakura's is having an argument with da voices in his head too!"

Yugi and Anzu had go off to get a drink ( KAWAII-NESS!! ).

// Yugi?// Yami said to his hikari.

/ Yeah?/

//What * is * that awful noise?//

Yugi rolled his eyes. / That would be music./ Yugi could feel Yami's confused look.

// …Interesting.// Yami said hesitantly. Yugi smirked, he would have to switch with Yami so his other side could get more in touch with this millennium.

Seto and Honda stood against the wall watching as Bakura continued to argue with the "voice" in his head, while Joey stood by egging Ryou on in his battle.

" Is he always like this?" Seto said in an amused tone.

" Nah, this is him on a good day." Honda replied.

The two shared a laugh and continued to watch the school dance the night away.

"COME ON YUGI!!" The four teens looked over and saw Anzu dragging a very reluctant Yugi towards the dance floor.

" Come on! It's a DANCE, and I wanna dance and you're coming with me!" 

Yugi began to put up a good fight.

" NO! NOT NOW!! NOOOO!" He wailed. Yugi struggled some more, but eventually lost the battle, die to Anzu being bigger that him.

"Twit." Bakura said.

" "ey! Why are you callin' Yugi a twit?" Joey jumped to defend Yugi.

"Because, we're over here on the wall waiting to get a girl to dance with us, and Yugi's resisting to dance with a girl."

"He's got a point." Seto murmured. "I'll take the next girl who comes up."

Honda snickered. "Oh really, Mr, Seto Kaiba?"

Seto took the bait.

" Yeah, I would." He said with a smug smile.

"Well, get ready den!" Joey said pointing at Anzu, who was stalking towards them fuming. Apparently, Yugi had run off and was hiding from her in the crowd.

"Will * SOMEONE * come on the floor with me, before I go ballistic and kill something?!!!!" She said clenching her fists. Joey, Bakura, and Honda pointed at Seto. 

"He will." They said in unison.

Seto froze, and tried to make an excuse, but Anzu was faster. Before he knew it, he was being lead off to the dance floor.

" Have a good time Kaiba!" Bakura waved.

" Yeh! Watch out for her fangs 'n claws!" Joey called after them.

Yugi appeared next to his friends.

" That worked perfectly." Bakura smiled.

"Yeah I can't believe she actually agreed to it." Honda said.

" Well, I counted on Seto being too proud and shy to have some fun.." Yugi replied.

"It's a good thing 'e has us ta push him in that right direction." Joey grinned.

"Yeah." Yugi smiled. "C'mon lets go have some fun!" 

The four boys laughed and then walked towards the dance floor.

***  
TBC!!!

Hehehehehe I'm sucha stinker, right in the middle of the dance. There's more tho', but I think as far as the flow of the story goes, it fits to divide it into spearate chapters. So you're gonna have to wait and see what happens with Seto's first dance… Seto/Anzu haters …DON'T FLAME ME!!! I promise that there is no pairing between them in this story. They'r just gonna dance, that's it. Sides, I like the Joey/Seto pairing better. SO NO FLAMES!!!

J: Pysco…  


BTW you guys like the intros? Please tell me!! Okies g2g now. Hope you enjoyed this chappie!!


	6. In Which the Past and the Present Collid...

As promised, Wufei and Malik are in Maria and Carolyn's "Great Christian Epics" class. They are currently studying Dante's Divine Comedy. It has action, romance, danger, and R.O.U.S.es…* hehhehe * 

W/M: Weeeeeeee…. -.-

C: You say that now, but just you wait!!

M: Yeah…ten bucks says, that you two will wanna pull your hair out after 30 seconds…

C: ACTION!!

* Wufei and Malik enter a conference style class classroom. There are some girls running about and some girls talking about random things. * 

W: Silly, onnas. This shouldn't be so hard.

* suddenly Maureen and Sarah come running into the room *  
Mo: HEY GUYS THE LADY NEXT DOOR HAS M&M'S!!!  
* There is a scramble and Malik and Wufie are stampeded by the girls who are in a rush to grab a handful of the sweet candy that melts in your mouth, not in your hand. ^.^ *

W: Oooow….  
M: Damn the bitch who is wearing heels…..

Ten minutes later half of the class in asleep, and the other half are desperately trying to convince their awesome, but Dante over-zealous teacher that the mud on terrace three of Purgatory is just MUD, and does not symbolize the remnants of freshly purged sin.

M/W: MUSt…stay…awaakee……  
W: If…those….weak…onnas…can…do..it…so..can…I

M: Can't keep my eyes open…

W: Weakling.. Zzzzzzzzz * Wufie slumps in his cozy leather seat and falls asleep* 

End

~*~

Hehehhee…yes that story is a true representation of that class. It's a cool class, but the M&M stampede, and the mud-debate are true events. Hehehe..No chibi seniors were hurt in the reproduction of this story..hehhee..ah well.. ON WITH THE DANCE!! Cherish it peeps because this is the LAST time the story will be this happy. Dun worry folks the ending is happy! But Seto..*sniffs* poor baby….ah well you guys will see in chappie 7!! 

ONWARDS TO DA STORY!!

In Which the Past and the Present Collide 

Remarkably for someone who had never been to a high school mixer, Seto was a pretty good dancer. Anzu smiled at him, thoroughly enjoying herself. She was glad that he could dance. It would have been pretty awkward if he could not. 

Surprisingly, Seto was having a lot of fun dancing. The songs were fast and the music had a great beat, and Anzu proved to be an incredible dancer.

The beat soon slowed, and the next song went into a slow dance. Seto's stomach did a flip-flop. Anzu had to get really close to him, that is…if she really wanted to dance slow with him.

" Seto?" She asked, her emerald eyes meeting his sapphire. 

"You wanna?"

Seto responded by placing his hands gently on her hips. Anzu then wrapped her arms around his neck.

The two got lost in the song, dancing and swaying to the music. Seto was completely lost in the alien feeling. No female had held him this close since…since his mother. He felt his throat tighten, but he ignored the feeling, pushed it away, and continued dancing. He was enjoying this too much. 

He felt a weight upon his shoulder, and looked down. Anzu had put her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she had the most beautiful expression upon her face.

_Not bad for my first time_ He thought with a nervous smile. 

"Seto?" Anzu was staring up at him.

"Yeah?"

"You're shaking. Are you okay?"

Seto looked bashfully down.

"I'm fine, its just that this is my first slow dance."   
Anzu smiled. " Oh. It's okay. It's mine too. Don't worry, its been wonderful."

Seto smiled back and gently dipped her. Anzu giggled and snuggled closer to him.

"AWWWWWWWWW!" Seto and Anzu both jumped out of their embrace to find that the others had surrounded them.

" WHAT THE HELL IS WORNG WITH YOU GUYS!!!" Anzu yelled. 

"Heh, you two looked so cute, we just had to share in the moment." Bakura snickered.

"Yeah, well go share in someone else's moment!" Seto scowled.

The song changed to a fast one, and the pulsing beat resumed once more.

"May I?" Bakura asked Seto gesturing towards Anzu.

" I'm fine with it if you are, Anzu." Seto said.

" Fine with me. Thanks again for the dance Seto." Anzu said as she took Bakura's arm and led him away.

Joey nudged Seto and Honda, "Come on." He said as they left and walked over to were the singles were dancing in a large group. A little while later Anzu and Bakura came back and the six teens were all dancing together. Ryou and Yugi gave each other sly looks and they moved away towards the corner of the gyms and switched with their yamis.

Bakura and Yami stood confused amonst the dancing teens and pulsing beats.

"**I. AM. GOING. TO. KILL. HIM**." Bakura sputtered.

"YUGI!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THIS ISN'T A DUEL!" Yami said as he and Bakura backed away from the dance floor.

"Why are you doing this?" Bakura hissed.

Yugi giggled /We wanted you two to expierence the 21st century outside of Duel Monsters./ 

/ Have fun!/ Ryou beamed at his yami as a crowd of ravenous girls dragged "Bakura" and "Yugi" on the dance floor. 

"All right, almighty pharaoh, what the hell are we going to do?" Bakura sneered at his equally unwilling accomplice.

" I don't know, but we can not do anything to embarrass our hikaris. They just want us to enjoy our selves." 

"Little runts deserves to be embarrassed." Bakura snarled.

"Enough." Yami said as the two were pressed together as girls who were already surrounding them began to get dangerously close.

/ Oh great. NOW they want to dance./ Ryou muttered.

//You got Anzu. Be quiet you irritant.//

/ What the opposite sex sees in you, I will never understand./

//Silence!!// Bakura growled.

Yami shoved Bakura. "Not now. We need to remedy this situation."

Bakura scowled, but then his eyes brightened. He let out a evil but cheerful laugh.

"Right." He said happily, as he reached in to his pocket.

Yami cocked his eyebrow. "WHAT are you doing?"

" 'Remedying the situation', my pharaoh." Bakura giggled insanely as he produced the infamous leather collar and clipped it to his neck. Yami swore he heard Ryou scream. He sighed and then grabbed the tomb robber, "What ever. Lets just get this over with." As he walked them up to the wall of girls.

Both "Egyptians" stood there watching the crowd. 

/Yugi…how do you 'dance'?/ Yami asked nervously as he watched the alien dance moves.

// Just move with the beat.//

Yami and Bakura tried, but their ancient ears were unaccustomed to the crazy beat of techno and pop. They haphazardly stumbled and bumped into people, and managed quite successfully to step on each other's feet.

"OW! Watch were you're going Bakura!" Yami moaned.

"Me?! You're not exactly a feather weight, either 'YUGI'!!" Bakura hissed.

Yugi and Ryou sat in their soul rooms shaking their heads at their yamis.

" Maybe this wasn't such a great idea." Ryou said softly.

" Nah. Let them be. Its good for them."

// Yami. Try mimicking people's moves.// Yugi called out to his partner.

Yami and Bakura managed this better and got a bit of a hold on "dancing."

" This isn't dancing." Yami muttered.

" Tell me about it. It's just groping your body and shaking your ass." 

Yami couldn't suppress a smile at Bakura's comment. A group of girl (if possible) pressed closer to them and joined them.

// You have to admit that this is fun, Yami// Yugi said.

/ I will admit it is, my hikari./

A few songs later, Yami and Bakura grew bored of "dancing." Yami leaned close to Bakura and gave him an mischievous smile.

" I think its time, we showed these people what dancing really is."

Bakura grinned wildly. " I'm with you."

"Good. Do you remember the _Tandasky_?"

Bakura's face lit up "DO I!"

In their soul room, Ryou looked at Yugi.

"I think those two are up to something." Ryou said in a worried tone.

Yugi nodded and they made to switch with their dark sides, but they found that they were blocked.

/Sorry. Its our turn to dance./ Bakura grinned and he and Yami broke into the strange Egyptian dance. 

_The Tandasky_ was basically a set if hop and spin done to the beat of the music. The dancers would move their hands and heads in strange patterned, improvising as they went along. Yami and Bakura were true masters at this dance.

The whole school surrounded them to watch the alien dance. The whole gym was silent, save for the music, as the school looked on with a bewildered expression.

Yami and Bakura looked to see the shocked expression of their audience.

" I don't think they like it." Yami said to Bakura. 

The two stopped with sheepish grins, expecting to be laughed at. Instead they were met with a cry for an encore.

" Well I'll be damned" Bakura said as he and Yami resumed the dance.

Pretty soon the everyone was doing the 21st century version of the _Tandasky_. Girls were screaming and clawing their way to be next to the two they assumed to be Yugi Motou and Bakura Ryou..

" Those two seem to be doing fine." Honda said as he and Seto nearly missed colliding into each other on a spin.

" HEE! AH'M THE KING OF 'DIS!!" Joey proclaimed before he tripped and fell flat on his face. He was nearly stampeded over by crowd of girls who rushed to get closer to Yami.

Seto and Honda laughed at the blonde's antics as they helped him up.

"Didn't I say you'd make a good dance floor?" Honda snickered.

" Ah, SHADAP!" Joey said as he playfully shoved Honda, who shoved back and knocked Joey into Seto. Seto growled and then pushed Honda with a bark of amusement. Honda rose to the challenge, mirth twinkling in his eyes, and pushed the taller boy into Joey. Soon the three boys were laughing and shoving each other each one trying to see who could either knock the other over or shove him the furthest. 

Anzu wrinkled her nose at their immaturity, but was soon laughing besides them. Joey managed to knock Seto over, but Seto pulled the blonde down with him. The two sat on the dance floor laughing. 

Anzu smiled at Seto. She had never heard the blue-eyed teen laugh. It was one that was warm and full of life. She looked on with wonder at Seto, his metamorphosis was incredible. Only a week ago he had been a cold immovable rock, now as she gazed upon the laughing boy it seemed that his icy shell had melted, and Seto Kaiba had been reborn. 

Seto had helped Joey up and the three boys were moving to join Yugi and Bakura.

Honda called out to her to join them. Anzu looked once more upon Seto's smiling face, before following her friends.

_You were right about him, Yugi._ She thought as she ran up to join the others.

~*~

Important Annoucement!

Yes I know that there is some OOCness going on but dun worry its gonna change so dun flame me! Also I am aware that Yami, Bakura, Ryou, and Yugi can't have three-way conversations between the yamis and the hikaris, but for the story's sake bare with me. The dance was and will be the only time this happens. So yea!

M: THAT'S IT FOR THE DANCE!! 

S: Thank god.

M: Aww, come one it wasn't that bad you had fun!

S: What ever.

M: Anywho, that's the end of the happy part, because its gonna get nice and angsty. There's a nasty surprise waiting for Seto back at his home.

S: Mokuba's gonna be all right..right?

M: ……………

S: 0.0

M: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!! Stay tuned folks!!

Oh yes and also, I made up the _Tandasky_. There is no such dance…all artistic credit goes to me! 


	7. All is not well

Okies here is the revised and completed chapter 7. Seto is OOC, but hey who cares. I think he reactions are plausible. In regaurds to the shounen-ai, it is very implied. Nothing more. You will see the Joey/Seto thing later on. There could be Yugi/Seto but remember folks, Yugi's trying to get Seto to loosen up and have friends. Yugi does do this a lot in the show. He has a fascination with Kaiba and his lack/or rather need for friends. Plus the kid is always kind to him. Yami is a different story…okay he's nice but he sure as hell doesn't let Kaiba get his way all the time. 

Also some people were confused about the dance. Yugi ws not playing a trick on Seto. He just wanted Seto to have some fun. He knew that Seto would be stubborn, so he got Anzu to pretend that he had ditched her. Joey and Honda's job was to goad Seto into wanting to dance. 

There wasn't anything mean about it. All of them were sincere, but they felt Seto needed a little push in towards the dance floor. So yeah, that's the story about the dance…..

S: bitch…didn't want to dance…  
* Maria beats him with that anime fan that people hit each other with** ***

M: Bad Bishi!! You need to wash out that dirty mouth of yours !! * drags him to the batroom* 

S: * screams a string of VERY colorful language at Maria. *

M: Shame on you!! What would your brother say to you, if he heard that??  
S: Go to hell!!

Mokuba: Ni-samma!!! 0.0 my ears!!!  
S: 0.0 uhh..Mokuba you didn't hear that…

Mok: What does "fuckyoubitch?" mean?

Maria: it means……  
S: NOTHING!! Go play!!

Mok: Can I say it??  
S: NO GO OUTSIDE!!!

Mok: *gasp * Seto,…is that a SWEAR WORD?? 0.0

S: Go..out..side….  
Mok: You swore Seto, no you gotta put 50 cents in the 'swear jar'.

S: …. Fine *gives him the money*

Mok: ^^ yay!! * goes out *

S: *grrr * I'm out 50cents because of you, bitch.

Maria jingles the jar, and Seto puts another amount in*   
S: Fuck…*deposits another coin *

M: Wee!! At the rate you're going , I'll be rich…  
S: I gotta learn to swear in another language….

~*~

It was late that night but no one wanted to be the first to leave the group; Not even Seto. Even though his chauffeur was waiting outside the dance when they left, Seto sent the driver to Yugi's house, so he could walk home with the others. 

Everyone was laughing and talking about what Yami and Bakura had done.

" Man that was the funniest thing!" Honda said with a laugh. "First they couldn't dance, and then they manage to start a dance craze!"

"Hee-ya that was something guys." Joey said as he thumped Ryou on the back.

The smaller boy sailed a couple of feet a head of Joey.

"Whoops sorry bud, guess I dun know my own strength!" Joey apologized.

" No problem Joey, you just startled me!" 

// Weakling.// Bakura snickered.

/Not now. Don't ruin a perfectly good evening./ 

Ryou waited for the scanting remark, but thankfully it never came. During this exchange Ryou had not noticed that they had arrived at Joey's house. 

Everyone said good bye to him as if it was the last time they would see each other. All were too sad to have a perfect evening end. The group did this at every house. Finally Seto and Yugi arrived at Yugi's house.

"Didja have fun tonight, Seto?" Yugi asked ever hopeful of the blue eyed teen's response.

" yes. Yes I did. Thank you Yugi." 

"Thank you for what, Seto?" 

" For giving me a chance."

Yugi smiled, and nudged Seto in a friendly manner.

"It was nothing, Seto. I'm just glad you enjoyed yourself."

Seto smiled and nodded. 

Just then Seto's limo pulled up.

"I guess this is my ride." He said. " Thanks again Yugi. See you at school on Monday."

"See you there, Seto. Say hello to Mokuba for me."

" I will. Good night Yugi." 

Seto opened the door and got in. 

"Bye Yugi" He waved after Yugi as he watched the smaller boy enter his home.

Seto sat back in his seat and sighed contentedly as the car sped off to his house. He was beyond exhausted from the dance. But Seto concluded to himself that it was a good and well deserved exhaustion.

" Have fun tonight sir?" the driver asked.

" Yes. One of the best evenings of my life."

~*~

Seto let himself in when he arrived home. Most of their servants had left for the night. He was surprised that Mokuba was not laying in wait to bombard him with greetings and questions as soon as he had entered. Seto shrugged it off, thinking of it as a small blessing, that Mokuba was asleep. He had been afraid that the boy would refuse sleep after his bout of nightmares. Seto, however prepared himself to find Mokuba in his older brother's bed.

He walked past their family room, and saw that the light was still on.

__

Forget being asleep, he's probably still watching a movie. Seto opened the door ready to usher a reluctant Mokuba to bed.

He walked into the room, and found the TV on, with the movie credits scrolling up the screen. A bowl lay on its side with the remains of popcorn scattered by it; but there was no sign of Mokuba. He frowned at his brother's carelessness and shut off the television.

"Mokuba?" He called. There was no reply. Seto sighed and wandered towards the kitchen, perhaps his brother was playing a late game of Capsule Monsters with their live-in cook and other servants. 

He opened the door of the kitchen, the lights were on and the kitchen was in pristine condition, ready for the next day's meal.

"Hello? Is anyone up?" 

the only answer was silence. Panic was now rising within him. He had now been in the house for ten minutes and he had not come across anyone. Seto walked quickly through the house calling out his brother's and the servant's names, trying still the fear that was consuming the good humor that he had been in.

Seto moved to one of the larger sitting rooms, and was met with a draft. The window had been smashed open. He heard a faint moan in the room next to him. 

"Hello?" He called out. A frantic moan was the reply. Seto ran to the other room, and found his maid Mrs. Sombersby, on her side bound and gagged.

Seto removed the gag, and worked on freeing the elderly woman.

"What happened?" Seto said almost screaming at the elderly woman.

"I don't know, sir. They came. Men in black suites. I don't know how they got in. They came after Tarro left. They cornered me in here. I don't know what became of the others or the little one." The old woman said with tears in her eyes. Seto berated himself for yelling at her. Mrs. Sombersby was the only person, beside himself, that truly loved Mokuba. In some regards she was like a grandmother and nanny all rolled into one.

He freed her, and ran off to search for his brother. 

"Call the police, and free the others!" Seto called over his shoulder

_Please be safe…please be safe…god please let him be all right. _Seto's mind screamed as he rushed in and out of every room in the mansion. He searched the mansion's entirety, until he came to the last place e hadn't looked….his office. He could hear the police cars coming up the street. Seto pushed open the double doors of the den, praying that his brother was inside.

_Please. Let him be here…_

Seto mustered up all his courage and pushed open the door. He was afraid of what could be on the other side. 

His blue eyes scanned the room and he saw nothing.

Seto felt his heart shatter. Mokuba was gone, his only family destroyed, his sense of security annihilated. He dragged his body to his desk and slumped against it, fighting back the tears, fighting back the anguished sobs of helplessness. A small whimper escaped his lips and her mentally berated himself for being so weak. The he heard something. I small crackle and a popping noise. A fire. 

Seto looked at he fire place and there was nothing there, but in the room that was sealed on the far left of the room…

_No!_ He thought. _I'm not going in there. He couldn't be in there. I sealed that room up after he died…_

He walked up to the door, his stomach twisting in knots. The sealing on the door was broken, and the deadbolt on the ground. The door was slightly ajar, as if it were inviting him in. The boy shivered; he did not want to go into that room. It was the place where his demon dwelt, the site of where the nightly beatings the Seto had once had to endure in order to "toughen up". It was the place were Seto had once lain so bruised and beaten that he could barely move for three days. Mokuba had saved his life that time, by sneaking water and food so that Seto could live.

Seto drew deep breaths preparing himself for what he would find on the other side of the door. With a strong kick, the door was thrown off its hinges, and Seto peered in. Indeed a fire was lit in that room's fire place. The flames cast eerie shadows upon the wall. From the fire light he could make out the outline of the large chair placed in front of it. Hanging off the side of the chair, was the outline of a very familiar sneaker.

Seto felt his heart leap into this throat as he rushed towards the chair.

"Mokuba!" He cried as he turned the chair to face him. The little one laid unconscious, dwarfed by the large chair. His skin was pale and Seto could see bruises appearing on the boy's exposed flesh. 

Without hesitation, Seto scooped up the smaller form and took Mokuba to his room. Seto laid Mokuba in the bed they often shared. He shook Mokuba trying to rouse the young boy.

"Mokuba?" He said shaking the silent form. There was no response or sign awakening. Seto reached to take Mokuba's pulse. His heart was racing as he searched over his brother's neck for a pulse. Tears were forming in his eyes as he began to give into his worst fear, and then he felt something. A gentle throb, and then another. Mokuba was alive. 

Seto breathed a breath of relief and thankfulness. Who ever had done this to his brother was going to pay. Seeing the bruises, Seto began to unbutton his bother's shirt to see if there was any serious injury that was being hidden by his clothing.

As Seto was undoing the shirt, Maggie the Kaiba's maid came in to inform Seto that the police had arrived. 

"Keep an eye on him." He said curtly as he moved passed his maid, so he could address the police.

A half hour later, Seto was climbing the stairs to return to his room, hoping that Mokuba was awake. He had left the police to investigate the house, but Seto didn't care. As long as Mokuba was safe, he didn't care if anything was stolen. He reached his room ad found Maggie, cleaning up the boy's beaten form.

"Has he woken up?" Seto inquired. 

"No, sir, but there was this." Maggie handed Seto an envelope. 

"I found it under his shirt sir."

"Thank you. You are excused." Seto said with out looking up from studying the envelope. The maid excused herself and left to keep an eye on the police.

Seto turned the envelope in his hands. It was a manila and gold colored. When he turned the envelope to the back he found the millennium symbol stamped across the seal.

The blue eyes widened and he tore the envelope open and read the card. His stomach clenched as he read:

_Hello, Kaiba-boy. Miss me? It was so gauche of you to leave with out so much as a "good bye." Anyway, this is to inform you that I have you little brother. I must say the little one and you have such interesting nightmares…and they all involve me. How sweet of you two to be thinking of me. The little one is safe…in the shadow realm of course. I couldn't bare the thought of you two being a part, so I left his soulless shell as a reminder that you couldn't save him. And you won't Seto. You won't find him this time. I hope you enjoy being an only child. Take care now Kaiba! Remember, pay back is indeed a bitch._

Pegasus 

"PEGASUS!!" He roared, and he turned and ran for the helicoptor hanger. 

"I'll kill him! I'll ring his foppish neck! He'll pay for what he's done to Mokuba!" The boy ranted as he grabbed his brief case and deck.

"That bastard is dead! I'll shove that accursed eye down his throat until he chokes on it!!"

He stormed past Mrs. Sombersby and barked orders at her and any servant that had not fled from the enraged boy.

" Take care of Mokuba! Make him as comfortable as possible!! Guard him with you lives." He growled at his employees. "I swear if any more harm befalls him while I'm away…" he fumed at one of his maids.

"Seto." Mrs. Sombersby called as she ran after the boy.

"Not now!" he hissed.

"Master Seto, please calm down!!"

The tall boy stopped dead in his tracks, and he wheeled around to face the shorter woman. "Calm down..something's happened to Mokuba!" He hissed at her through clenched teeth. The older woman was not effected by Seto's harsh manner. She knew him too well to take it personally. She placed a reassuring hand on the boy's wrist

"My dear you will have Mokuba back. But you must calm down. Think rationally, or you'll make a mistake." 

Seto moved from the maid's touched. He knew better than to do that, but he was too angry to care about Mokuba, to care about how he reacted to the maid. Deep down he did revere the old woman as a nanny or friendly grandmother, but his cold personality would not let him express his true feelings for the woman. But somehow she understood Seto, and put up with him. Hell. This wasn't the first time he'd ranted about something.

"get the helicopter ready." He said in a dark tone. Mrs. Sombersby nodded. She knew that tone all too well. It was pointless to argue with the boy. All she could do was give him advice and support in his actions.

" Go sit with your brother, and I'll fetch you with the helicopter is ready." The maid commanded her employer.

Seto turned and went back to his room. He stayed by his brother. Whispering promises of Pegasus' end to his comatose brother. Maggie walked in looking as white as a sheet.

"Is it ready?" Seto snapped as he gripped the brief case.

"Sir, turn on the television. I think you should see this." He said in a shaky voice.

"TV on!." Seto growled at the voice-commanded screen. The screen flickered and turned to a news channel.

"You better not be wasting my time." The boy snarled. "what is so important that…"

Seto's voice caught in his throat. On the screen there was an island. The sky was filled with black smoke, as the island below it burned in flames. It looked more like a floating bond fire than an island. A reporter was at the bottom of the screen,

"Tragedy struck here tonight, when the famed, 'Duelist Kingdom' created and run by Maximillion Pegasus, caught fire this evening. The blaze has spread so quickly that it has destroyed everything in its wake. There is no news of survivors, nor do officials think there are any. The cause of the fire is still unknown…."

Seto stared in disbelief at the screen. The words barely registering his brain. Mokuba was gone. Seto now had no idea were his brother could be. Any where in the whole world was possible. He had failed. Immediately his guilt came in over powering waves. Mokuba was truly gone. He had left Mokuba unprotected, ripe for Pegasus' taking. He looked at his brother's beat up form, wanting the scream and throw up at the same time. Mokuba had been hurt by Pegasus, and was unable to defend himself. 

His breathing became rapid, as he punched the screen with all his might, causing the screen to shatter into a million pieces and sending Maggie running from the room.

He didn't care that blood was weeping from hands or the pain that was surging through his body from the shards of glass that were embedded in his skin. The only hurt he registered was from the ache in his heart

Alone…he was alone. Mokuba was gone. Pegasus had his brother. Alone. He hated 'alone', and now he had no family. Pegasus had destroyed it. It was gone. 

Seto ran to his brother's side and shook Mokuba harshly hoping to prove that Pegasus was bluffing, but the little one stayed still and silent.

"Please Mokuba. Do not be gone from me. I need you." He said in an anguished tone.

"Mokuba." The boy pleaded with ragged breaths. He could not believe that he had been so stupid to leave Mokuba again. _And for what, a stupid dance! I should have been here!!_

"I wasn't here for you like a promised. Wasn't here for when you needed me. Forgive me, forgive me please. Wake up and tell me that this is a dream, and I'll promise never to leave your side again. I was selfish, I should not have gone out tonight."

The boy remained still, and his brother howled in anguish. "Mokuba.." He said in ragged sobs. His body sank to the floor and he laid there weak from the pain and his flood of emotions.

"Mokuba…" he whispered, and then reduced himself to whimpering and sniffling like he had during his first night at the foster home; without anyone to comfort him.


	8. Solitary Vigil

Our scene opens up inside the Holy Child gym as our bishis have unwillingly found them selves seated for the Spring sports assembly *  


S: What the fuck is this? 

J: I dunno its some awards show..thingi….

S: Why are we here, We didn't play any sports.

M: Its to show support and all that spirit crap for our school….

S: Do we have to be here?

M: Yeah or the headmistress will kick our asses. Don't worry, its as boring as hell but it builds character!!

* An hour of handing out awards, and pointless team inside jokes go by*

M: Ooo!! Look at this it went 15 minutes over! Less time for Art History!!

*Seto and Joey are slumped in their seats, drooling with a glazed look intheir eyes *

S/J: Uuuhhhhhhh…..

M: Whimps…come on boys, we gotta go for humanities…today we're doing an hour of Art history!!! Yay!! We get to learn for an hour about Van Gogh and post modernist paintings that aren't supposed top look like art..but it really is art!!

Joey and Seto scream and run out of the gym* 

***

He could hear Pegasus' mocking laughter ringing in his brain. He could hear the man's cruel and condescending tone of voice, as he hurt Mokuba. The little one screaming for his brother, while Seto was out at a dance. Now, Mokuba was gone, and Seto had no idea were he was. Pegasus could be hiding anywhere, in the darkest nook of the world.

Seto felt something wet drip onto his chest. He was bleeding, profusely actually, and shards of glass scattered around were he lay. But he didn't care. Nothing mattered to him now, except the well fare of his brother.

"Mokuba." He moaned. 

Mrs. Sombersby watched from the doorway. Here eyes were filled with tears, for both of the brothers. She loved the little one, and even the older boy, even though Seto was cold and reclusive. She admired the boy for his strength, and pitied him for all he had to endure. He was only a child, but he had always been an adult. There was no time in her memory of the boy acting his age, or having fun. Just a man in the youthful shell was all she had encountered. 

She kept behind the door, hidden from Seto's sight, knowing it would further upset the boy if he knew he had let some one see him cry. It wouldn't be the first time. She had witnessed Seto's tears five years ago, after his adoption. The old woman had found the boy whimpering and cowering in his room. Later she would find the truth about the "lessons" Gozaburo had given the boy. She remembered the bruises that had marred his skin, and how the boy has lied to her when she questioned his injury's origin. Seto had allowed the maid to comfort him, but that would be the first and last time. AS the boy spent more time under his foster father's tutelage, Seto became indifferent and cold, seemingly submissive to Gozaburo; loyal and loving to only Mokuba.

" Mrs. Sombersby?" A cracked voice came from the office. The maid dried her eyes and walked into the room to address her employer. Seto stared at the old woman. He knew that she had been behind the door, and that she had seen him. Seto's face burned with embarrassment and shame for showing his weakness. 

"You're brave my dear." She said. " Do not by ashamed. You are brave to love your brother so much. No one has that compassion, that I have seen as you do for Mokuba. You'll find him. And you'll make sure whoever did this pays." 

Seto looked at his maid, almost stunned by her words of comfort. The maid gingerly lifted his injured hand and led him off towards the bathroom to clean up.

***

Seto did not return to school that Monday. Although his new friends missed him, others did not. 

"Probably got locked in his big vault while counting his money." A girl snickered.

"Screw Kaiba. Did anyone hear about Duelist Kingdom?" A boy asked.

" Who cares, I want to know why Mr. "Moneybags" isn't here." Said another.

"Eh, shuddap ya loosers. Seto's probably sick." Joey snapped in defense of his friend. Joey sank back into his chair and turned to Yugi.

"Man, first DK goes up in flames, and not Seto's not here. This is weird, Yug."

"I know what you're saying Joey. But it could be coincidence that Seto's not here, he could be sick. But on the other hand, there hasn't been any word about Pegasus, and that has me really worried." Yugi said as he tugged thoughtfully on his millennium puzzle.

"You saying that nut-case could be on da loose again?" 

"What if he is? What if he's trying to strike get at me or Seto for what happened at the Kingdom? I wouldn't put it past him. He's sneaky and clever, I'd bet he's waiting to strike when we least expect it." The boy said in a hushed, but worried manner.

"You're being paranoid, Yug. Dun cha agree, Bakura?" Joey said as he thumped Ryou on the back.

"Yes, you are. Pegasus wouldn't be stupid to try those tatics again. Besides, Kaiba Corp, what would the bastard want?" The white haired teen replied.

Ryou felt Bakura swallow nervously.

//Is there something wrong, my yami?// Ryou hissed. He knew that his darker half had something to do with the strange occurrences over the weekend.

// None of your business, weakling!!// Was the response.

Ryou felt Bakura's soul room door slam, and lock.

_Something up with him. And I'm going to find out._

***

Mrs. Sombersby carried a tray of food into Seto's room. IT was laden with his favorite breakfast; Tea, a fresh croissant, with butter and jams. Seto was normally picky about his food, but the maid knew that this meal was one of his weaknesses. 

_Perhaps this will brighten him up_ She thought as she laid out the food on a small desk that was directly outside of his bed chamber.

"Master Kaiba?" She said as she opened the door.

Her heart sank at the sight before her. The old woman didn't know why she hadn't gotten used to it after five days. 

The room was dark, the only light came from whatever light that managed to creep through the sides of the shades.

Mokuba lay still as he has since Friday night; motionless, expressionless, in a total sleep like trance. The little one was tucked safely in his brother's bed, with the covers drawn to his shoulders and a Celtic guardian plushie nestled beside him. Anyone glancing at the boy would believe that the boy was asleep; not missing his soul.

The sadder part of the scene was Seto. The teen sat by his brother in a solitary vigil. His face was sunken in from his grief, and dark circles surrounded his eyes. The eyes that rivaled sapphires were dull, and sparked with sadness. He was pale from lack of sleep, as well as his refusal to eat.

Periodically Seto would reach out and hold Mokuba's hand. Perhaps hopeful that the touch would rouse the little one. Seto loosely clutched a cell phone in the other hand as he waited for his satellite team to contact him with any information about Pegasus' whereabouts. 

"Master Seto?"

Seto turned and faced his maid.

"Come along sir. You must eat something."

"I'm not hungry."

"But you haven't…"

" I'm not hungry. Thank you." The boy said flatly.

Mrs. Sombersby brought the tray into the room.

"Seto. Please." She only called with out formality, when she was exasperated with the boy. "You've have to get something decent into your stomach!! What good is it Mokuba, if you waste away?"

Seto stared blankly at the ground. He was too upset and tired to rant at his servant's insolence. But she was right, and she was only pestering him because she cared about him and Mokuba.

"Leave it on the night stand." He said bitterly.

Mrs. Sombersby set it on the stand.

"Promise me you'll eat this time?"

"I don't make promises." He replied dryly.

The maid huffed, and decided there was no reason to continue arguing with the distraught teen.

"I'll be in the kitchen, if you need me."

Seto nodded.

When he was alone, Seto decided to voice his thoughts to his soulless brother.

"I don't make promises, because I have proven that I can not keep them." He said has he brushed a few stray strands of hair from Mokuba's still face.

"I said I'd always be there for you, but I didn't full fill it. Twice now I have failed you, Mokuba. Please come back to me. I need you, my little one."

When he was given no response, Seto closed his eyes and continued on with his silent grieving.

***

Okies kinda short..*sniffs * Poor Seto!! WAAAAAAHHH!! 

Hope ya liked it, R&R pwease!!!


	9. Alone and in pain

Heyas all, Maria just got back form Beach Week!!! Maria got kidnapped by her crew…hehehe we had fun!! Sorry for lack of updates, thing got crazy with Graduation, my party and then being whisked away to the beach by my posse. So expect more updates soon!!

* the Bishi's are all frolicking on the beach *

Quatre: Trowa!! Play volley ball with me!!  
  
Trowa: //.0…. * picks up the ball and tosses it to Quatre *

Q: ^^ YAY!!

* the Bishi's are having a fun time at the beach, when Maria notices Joey running away from Seto's sleeping form, with a wide grin on his face *

Maria: Joey what did you do…  
J: ^^ go check out Kaiba's back…  
  
* Maria looks *

M: heheheheee I see the old sunblock trick….

* couple hours later Mokuba come up to his brother *

Mo: Seto will you come in the water with me…  
Seto: ….mmm…what?

Mo: Seto? Whats on your back?  
Seto: 0.0…what do you mean 'whats on my back?'

Mo: Why does it say " Kaiba is Carolyn's bitch" ?

Seto: WTF?? WHEELER!!! *runs off to find Joey *

Maria: Where's your brother, Mo-mo?

Mo: dunno…ran off after Joey. Said something about drowning him."

* Joey run by in the backround screaming like a banshee, as Seto clings to the blonde trying to grab at Joey's trunks *  
J:WAUGGGGGGGG!! IT WAS A JOKE AH'M SORRY!! STOP IT!!!  
S: * is trying to stuff a crab down Joey's trunks* HOLD STILL DAMN YOU!!!  
  
Mo: 0.0…what is my brother doing… to Joey  
*Maria cover's his eyes *  
Maria: KAIBA!! QUIT IT YOU'RE SCARING YOUR LITTLE BROTHER!!! 

Okies that's it for now….. onto the story…  
  
***

"Kaiba?" No response.

The class turned to look at the empty seat. It had now been a week since anyone had seen Kaiba.

"Has anyone seen Seto Kaiba?" The teacher inquired.

No one answered. The teacher sighed and went on.

After class, the teacher called Yugi over.

" Yugi, Do you think you could take Seto's missed assignments to his house?"

"Sure." The smaller boy nodded.

The teacher smiled and handed Yugi a weeks worth of assignments. He bade farewell to his instructor, and left to find his friends.

Yugi frowned at the stack of papers. It was unlike Seto to leave his assignments like this. If ever the young CEO was sick or in a meeting during class, he always sent somone for his assignments.

"Whatcha got there Yugi?" 

Yugi looked up to see Joey and the others heading in his direction.

" The teacher gave me Seto's assignments. She was wondering if I could deliver them to him."

"I'll come with you!" Joey said as he shouldered his backpack. The others nodded eagerly with their blonde friend.

"Yeah, that would be great. Seto could use some friends after being gone for a week. Lets go!!"

The teens left their school and began to walk to the Kaiba Mansion.

***

Meanwhile, in a far off place, a figure looked out his chamber window. The setting sun cast a orange shine down his silver hair. The man raised his glass, and swirled its contents, preparing to take a sip.

"Sir?" 

The figure sighed, irritated that he had been interrupted from indulging in his drink. He turned to the guard. 

"Is everything in order?" He asked.

The guard nodded. "Of course sir. We're awaiting special orders."

"Make it look like an accident."

The guard shuddered. "Are you sure you want to kill him, sir? He's only a boy…"

" Oh I want him dead all right…but be it by my hand or his grief is another story. Kaiba has been too quiet…I want to keep him on his toes. I've always enjoyed watching the boy struggle against the odds…and always fails, which makes it more amusing."

The guard nodded once more, "I'll tell our man to get in position."

"Yes. And tell him to make it interesting. I want Kaiba to crawl out of there by the skin of his teeth."

"Yes sir."

The guard left. A malicious smirk crept upon the figures lips. The beginning of his revenge had started. Now was the time to play with his victims, but soon the real plan would come to fruition. He turned his gaze towards open window at the sea that was stretched before him. The city of Domino lay hundreds of miles away, where his unaware prey lived. He smiled and raised his glass in mockery of a toast.

"Cheers, Kaiba-boy."

***

Seto dragged his heavy shell of a body into the den. Mrs. Sombersby had suggested that work would get his mind off of Mokuba. He idly pushed buttons, glanced at a few documents, and then gave up.

He flopped restlessly against his desk. His whole body hurt. He was tired, and hungry. The boy felt as if he had been stretched taught like a rubber band, and at the same time he felt incredibly weary. His grief for Mokuba was overwhelming. The satellite teams had failed in locating Pegasus, it was becoming clear to Seto that his brother may indeed be lost forever. He had never felt this helpless before. IT was overwhelming. Every inch of his body hurt, and yet he felt so numb.

His stomach growled painfully. He was hungry but he didn't feel like eating. He winced as his stomach growled again in protest. Seto clutched and arm around his rebelling stomach, and curled up the best he could with his head on the desk.

"Master Kaiba?"

Seto blinked and stared at the intercom on his desk.

"Master Kaiba?" The voice repeated.

Seto sighed and pressed the button to speak, "Yeah?"

"Some of your classmates are here." The receptionist informed.

Seto scowled. He couldn't let Yugi and the others see him like this. A weak, sniviling sorry excuse of a human.

"Get rid of them." The boy hissed. 

"Are you sure, Seto?" It was Mrs. Sombersby, intercepting the call. "A visit from your friends might cheer you up."

"I said..GET RID OF THEM." Seto snarled and turned off the intercom.

__

Fuck friendship. It's screwed me over one too many times.

Seto laid his head back on the desk. He was so tired and numb that he didn't notice his tears wetting his cheeks, and dripping onto the wood under his head.

***

sniff* SETO!!!!! *CRIES *

okies kinda short, R&R!!!!! thankies!!


	10. Dream comes true

Hey everyone I am back!! Things are way crazy here! But never the less, I promised ya an up date!!

Seto: 'Bout time!! You left all these fans worrying about ME!!

Maria: I'm sorry *huggles him *

Seto: Gah! NO TOUCHIE!!!   
  
* Mokuba runs up and glomps Seto*  
  
Seto: ^^ * snuggles Mo-mo *

Maria: 0.o WAI DUN YOU LUV ME!!!!!!! *cries *  
  
Seto: Because you're not Mo-mo..

*Maria glares jealously and walks away grumbling * damn kid, too cute for his own good… 'Big brother Big Brother..help help;….for crying out loud… 0.0 *gets an idea *

*places a quick call. Kemo and three suits jump out of the bushes and grab her*

M: SETO SETO HELP HELP!!! 

*seto ignores her *  


Mok: I think Maria is in trouble…

Seto: So?  
  
Mok: * gives him puppy eyes * Save her pwease….  
  
Seto: …*sighs* FINE…

* runs out to save her. He run closer and closer, their hands are inches apart * I'll SAVE YOU FROM PEGASUS' GOONS MARIA!!

Seto reaches out for her when - *  
  
Mok: SETO SETO!! HELP HELP!!   


*Seto turns in mid air and rushes off to save Mokuba from Pegasus' REAL goons *  
Seto: MO-KU_BAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

Mok: BIG BROTHERRRRRRRRR!! (duncha just love it when they do that? ^.^ )

Mar: HEY WAIT!! WHAT ABOUT ME???

Seto: You're not important enough…

Maria: YOU COLD SELFISH BASTARD!!

Seto: That's right toots….

Meh onta the story…..  


"I'm sorry," The guard said "Master Kaiba will not be receiving any visitors today."

Yugi and his friends exchanged nervous glances.

"Ok, we have his homework. We just wanted to drop it off." Yugi said politely as he pulled a folder out of his backpack.

"You may leave it with me. I'll see that he gets his assignments." Said the guard as he took the folder form Yugi.

"Whets wrong with him?" Asked Joey. "His he sick or something'?"

The guard frowned, "I am not at liberty to say. Now if you have no further business here, I suggest you take your leave. Have a nice weekend."

Taken aback by the guard's coldness, the teens left the Kiaba property.

"Man what was up that guard's butt?" Joey said as he kicked a stone a few feet ahead of him while they walked.

"I dunno Joey." Yugi sighed. "Maybe he's really busy this week"…_or maybe he doesn't really want to be our friend._

A figure in the garden stood extremely still. It was almost sundown, as he waited for the opportune moment to strike. The figure watched as a group of teenagers walk past the garden gate, upset that they had been turned away from the mansion.

_Kaiba has friends? That's odd. Sources told me that the brat is a loner._

He shrugged at this new piece of information and checked over his equipment. His orders we clear. Go in get Mokuba's body, and make sure that the older Kaiba failed to protect his brother. He smiled remembering that Master Pegasus had encouraged brutally beating the older boy, even the possibility of death. He smiled wolfishly as he thought of his future victory against the young CEO. Kaiba Corp would be Pegasus' by tomorrow and he would have a very hefty reward.

Slowly he moved towards the back of the house, and located the den window. Pegasus had informed him that the den was the most likely place where he could find the older Kaiba. 

From his bad he pulled out a grappling hook and loaded it into a launcher gun and took aim.

No one heard the gun go off or the "clink" the metal prongs made on the sill as it latched on. The man swiftly ascended and stepped on to the narrow ledge. He peered inside the window and caught a glimpse of one of his two targets. He saw Seto hunched over his desk seemingly asleep. 

_THAT is Seto Kaiba?_ The man thought with a disapproving look. He has heard many stories of genius teen. How he was tall and intimidating with confident air and piercing blue eyes. Not this pale and obviously fatigued boy.

_Heh. He said that this may be difficult_.

He began to pry the window open as silently as possible. He successfully slipped inside the room, not interrupting his prey. 

So enraptured was Seto in his thoughts that he did not notice the window being opened. He became aware that someone was in the room when, something hard hit him on the back of his head. He saw stars for a minute and felt a searing pain. His vision clouded for endless seconds as he sat stunned behind his desk.

Once he got his bearings, Seto heard a noise to his left. It was coming from his room, and the door was now ajar. Seto stumbled to his feet and ran to his bedchamber. He flung open the door and scanned the room for the disturbance. And then he saw a man attempting to lift his brother from the safety of his bed.

Seto felt his blood burn with rage, as his protective nature for Mokuba came out in full force.

"PUT HIM DOWN YOU BASTARD." Seto growled at the intruder.

The man froze realizing that he had not knocked Seto out as he had intended. He smiled and dropped the soulless form to the bed. He cracked his knuckles and turned to Seto smiling,

_No point in putting this off any longer_. He told himself. He had been looking forward to beating the crap out of Seto Kaiba.

"Well, if it isn't the all mighty Seto Kaiba." He said as he advanced on the boy. 

"Who are you and what do you want?" Seto snarled as he moved out of striking range.

The man swiped at Seto, and the sidestepped it. The man swung at the boy again, and Seto dodged again, but this time he stumbled. The fatigue and stress were taking their toll on his body.

"Tsk. Tsk. Kaiba. You should take better care of yourself.

Seto growled, "GET. OUT.!" But this time the threat sounded weak. The man chuckled.

" Ooh, that was so threatening. I'm a bit disappointed, here I am promised a battle with the infamous CEO of Kaiba Corporation and child genius, and instead I stand face to face with a tallow-skinned bag of bones. You're a wreck boy. How are you fit to protect the child, when you can barely stand to fight or make threats?"

Seto snapped and rushed the man. "You'll be the wreck when I'm done with you, asshole!" 

He swung his fist and it hit his mark square in the shoulder. The man staggered, and Seto prepared to swing his fist again. His fist was a second from connecting with the man's jaw, when the man blocked him and countered Seto with frightening speed. The man buried his fist into Seto's abdomen. The punch sent Seto reeling backward to the floor.

_Shit that hurt._ He thought as he grasped his stomach and groaned. The man stood over him, and spat in the boy's face. 

"Heh. I thought you were trained in the martial arts? I heard that you were a force to be reckoned with. It seems that your attachment to your brother weakened you." The man kicked the boy in his left shin. Seto winced.

Laughing wickedly the man lunged on top of Seto and pinned his to the floor. He punched the teen relentlessly until the boy stopped struggling.

" Your weak boy. " He said as he slapped Seto. "You failed him." He backhanded the boy. 

Seto laid there with his eyes closed panting, and trying to summon enough strength to fight back. Stars were dancing before his eyes, and his body was aching, but the man's words were carving into him. Hurting him deeper than the man's physical torture.

Seto felt the man pin his arms against the ground, and the adult's weight shift as he leaned forward. Seto flinched when he felt the hot breath against his ear as the man began to whisper to him,

" I'm going to take him away. Take him far away from you. I'll take him to Pegasus…and you'll never see your brother again. And you can rot here in this little office thinking about how you failed to stop me, because you were too weak."

__

No!! I AM NOT WEAK!! GOTTA PROTECT MOKUBA!! Seto screamed to himself. _I PROMISED!! Promised I'd always be there for him!_

The cobalt eye snapped open.

"NO!" With adrenaline fueled strength, Seto twisted and jerked his body until he was able to propel his attacker off of him. Seto pounced like a tiger and barreled into the man sending them both to the floor with the teen on top. Seto swung wild punches, each hitting their mark accurately. 

Seto gripped the collar of the man's shirt, and yanked the man's head upward.

"WHERE IS PEGASUS?" Seto snarled.

The man said nothing. Unnoticed to the teen, the man was easing his hand into his pocket. 

Seto slammed the man's head down against the floor, and brought him back up again.

"TELL ME!"

The man smiled. Seto looked curiously at his opponent as if to ask 'why are you smiling?'

With a sudden jerk the man's head impacted with Seto's forehead. The stunned teen was flipped off the man's body, and soon found that his left wrist was now trapped in a silver cuff that the man had produced from his pocket. Seto was dragged across the floor kicking and pulling in hopes to pull the man off balance. 

"Give up, damn you!" The man said in annoyance, He grabbed Seto by the scruff of his neck flung him forcefully against the wall. The man smirked as he watched Seto's form fall limply to the floor. He secured the boy to leg of an antique couch, just as the boy was coming back to his senses.

" A valiant effort. But you failed." The man sneered as he left to collect his prize.

Seto struggled to lift the heavy couch. He pushed and strained trying to free his hand, but it was no use. A week of fatigue, stress, and malnurishment threatened to leave him helpless on the floor. He watched his attacker moved closer to the still form of his brother.

"get away from him." Seto said through ragged breaths. 

The man laughed cruelly at the boy's request, as he pulled the covers from Mokuba. Seto's jerked and pulled wildly as his beaten form would allow. Anything to save his brother. Then he saw it. A glass paper weight that had rolled off his bedroom's desk and under the couch. He grabbed the glass with his free hand and hurled the glass missile with all his strength. The weight struck true between the man's shoulder blades. The man fell stunned to the ground.

_Bought some time._ Seto thought as he resumed his attempts to lift the couch, so that the cuff would slid off. He pulled and pushed s hard as he could, the metal slicing his wrists, cutting deep into his flesh. He didn't care about the pain, Mokuba was more important. He strained some more using all the strength he could muster. He managed finally to lift the heavy antique just enough to slip the handcuff from under the leg.

" He said you wouldn't go down with out a fight." The man said as he loomed over Seto. Seto kicked out at the man, knocking him to the side. Seto jumped the man and both were on the floor again, in a heap of thrashing limbs as the two combatants struggled to overcome the other. 

The two males rolled and kicked, neither side giving quarter. They rolled and fought out of the bedroom, and into the small sitting room between Seto's office and bedchamber.

Seto managed to pull him self free of the man's weight. He scrambled to his feet, and pulled the bedroom door closed and keyed in the electronic security code to lock the door.

"You won't take him from me." Seto said as he leaned heavily against the door. The pain was excoriating. It was hard to think through out the pain.

"We'll see about that, boy." The man snarled. He knocked Seto down again, this time efficiently pinning the boy down. He began to mercilessly beat the boy. The man slammed his fist into Seto's face, shoulders, and stomach, until his victim was barely conscious. He laid there allowing the man to hit him.

"Mokuba…" he whimpered and closed his eyes.

***

Meanwhile, in the backyard, Joey and Honda had scaled the mansion walls, and were attempting to open up a window.

"I'm still not sure if this is a good idea guys!!" Yugi called out as loud as he dared to his friends, while he glanced over his shoulder watching for the security guards.

" What if he really is just sick? This **IS** breaking and entering!" Anzu yelled.

"Don't worry guys we know what we're doing." Honda said as he opened up the window. 

"Yeah, we're Seto's friends now, and we're gonna make sure that he's okay." Joey said as he slipped through the window.

Anzu sighed. "Bakura go with them." There was 'trouble' written all over this plan. 

"Why me. Why should I climb up there. Why not you and Yugi? I'm not so sure of this idea either" The silver haired teen argued

"Because you are a good source of reason, and I'm not climbing up there in a skirt."

" But those two wont listen to me, and Yugi and I promise we won't look-"

"GET UP THERE." Anzu hissed.

"All right. All right." Ryou huffed as he began to climb up their poorly crafted ladder. "If I get arrested, I'll never forgive those two …"

***

"You don't mind if I smoke do you?" The man said as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "It's a tradition of mine. I always smoke after I've completed a mission." 

He smiled at the wearied form at his feet. The boy was bloody and bruised and barely conscious. The man snickered and kicked the teen hard in the ribs, smiling at the sound of a rib cracking. Seto whimpered. The man blew a cloud of smoke in the boy's direction and turned away towards the door. He ripped the keypad off, and began to work on hot-wiring the lock system.

"In a few minutes, you'll be an only child." The man called over his shoulder to his beaten victim. 

"You'll never find him." The man smoked his cigarette happily as he worked. 

Twenty minutes later found his good mood disappearing, as he failed again to unlock the door. 

Softs grunting behind him, made him turn to find the dazed teen trying to get up. Seto staggered weakly to his knees, and attempted to stand. A searing pain ripped across his chest. He gasped and doubled over in pain.

The man smiled and decided to take a break from his task to torment the wounded boy.

"Still trying, eh?" the man said in a mocking tone as he pushed Seto down. "Face it. You've lost. Mokuba is Pegasus' now." He blew a puff of smoke in Seto's face, smiling as the boy coughed, and then cried out in pain, as it was uncomfortable for him to do so with his injury.

"You just lay right there, and I'll finish up my job." The man took a final drag of the cigarette and flicked towards the trashcan, and turned back to the door. 

The man never noticed that the still smoldering butt had missed the trashcan, and had landed at the base of the office window curtains. The material burst into flames and spread the flames the neighboring curtains across the office.

Seto watched as half of the office go up in flames. Smoke was beginning to fill fast. Seto coughed, each ragged breath spraying flecks of blood. He could hear man cursing as he struggled to open the door.

Finally the man gave up, deciding to save his own skin. He broke open a window and disappeared to the yard below.

_Mokuba….I have to get to him_ Seto began to repeat to himself, as he crawled once more to knees. His strength was fading fast. He pulled himself to his feet, his breathing ragged and spewing droplets of blood. He clutched his chest and staggered towards the door. 

The fire was spreading towards him, it was getting so hot, and the curtains were now falling towards the ground like flaming blankets. Windows exploded from the heat as room began fall apart.

_Mokuba…I'm coming…I'll get to you…_ He faltered and fell against the door; his legs were beginning to buckle. He fumbled with the wires trying to override the locks. His vision began to blur, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.

" Mokuba!" He gasped. _Brother I am coming. It's so hard for me…_

He coughed harshly spraying drops of blood onto the white door. He desperately gasped for air. His vision blurred once more and the boy tried harder to focus on the wires he was trying to cross, but to no avail. Seto found it was becoming increasingly difficult to stand. He felt as if he was floating, his vision was nothing more than a haze, the fire was now miles away, and his aches and injuries were beginning to fade.

"Mokuba." He cried weakly. "Brother help me…."

The cobalt eyes glazed over and Seto slumped to the floor. 

***

BWHAHAHAHA..CLIFFHANGER Please R and R!!


	11. A ray of hope in the inferno

You all are lucky 2 updates in the same month…you bettah be grateful! ENJOY! J

***

The door of the office came down with the crash.  The smoke that billowed from the hellish inferno nearly blinded the three boys who had entered.

  "Man, nevah a dull moment, come on lets find Seto." Joey remarked as he shielded his eyes from the falling ash.

  "That maid said that he'd be in here…SETO?!!" Ryou called.

 "HEY KAIBA!! YOU IN HERE?!" Honda cried as he, Bakura nd Joey ventured into the burning office, avoiding the falling embers of the raging fire.  The fire alarms were blaring, and the office was being beginning to come down around them.

  Bakura spied a paled mass with sable hair. 

  "THERE!! OVER THERE!!" he said pointing to Seto's fallen form.

"Holy shit!" Joey cried out when they reached the boy. "What happened here?"

  Honda moved to lift the unconscious boy. "Can't figure that out now, we gotta get him out!"

  A book self fell over and burst into flames a few feet away where the teens were crouched.

 "We gotta go NOW!!" Joey said helping Honda lift Seto.

 "M-mokuba…" A soft whimper escaped from Seto's bruised lips.

  "Its okay, Seto. He's probably gotten himself out."  Said Ryou as he helped Joey and Seto steady the taller boy so that they could lift him.

 Seto jerked in their grip. 

 "no…mokuba….."

 Seto clung as best he could to the burning carpet.

 "SETO!"  Ryou cried as he and the others pried Seto's fingers from their hold on their carpet. "Stay with us…we must get you out of here."

  Seto gave a choked cry. "Not with out him."  A fresh river of blood began to trickle from his mouth.

  "Come on." Honda said as he pulled Seto's hand from the floor, "We have to get him to a doctor. He's not going to last much longer."

   The three boys began to drag Seto towards the door.  The injured boy was whimpering for his younger brother, and attempting to wiggle from his rescuers' hold.

  "Calm down Kaiba. He's probably outside looking for you." Joey said as he jerked Seto away from the fire.

   Seto gave a mighty pull and flopped to floor, aggravating his injuries.  He pointed the closed door.

  "Mokuba."   He said and then passed out.

 "Something's in that room." Joey said as he and Ryou quickly hoisted Seto back up.

Honda charged the door. " You guys get going." He said as he slammed himself against his obstacle. "I'll be right behind you guys!"

***

   Honda smashed through the door, just as the fire was beginning to spread into the room as well.

  _What the.._ He saw Mokuba lying asleep in a large bed.  The teen rushed to the boy's side and began to shake him.

  "MOKUBA!! WAKE UP YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!"

  There was no response.  Honda lifted the boy, as gasped at the dead weight.  The boy was breathing, but there was no mistaking that Mokuba was once more a soulless shell.  He had remembered how the younger Kaiba had looked back on Pegasus' island.

 _Well, I guess this makes two ya owe me kiddo._ He thought as he moved to open the bedroom window.  There was no backtracking through the office now.  

    He secured Mokuba to his body using the bed sheets and his trench coat.  On his way out the window, Honda saw Seto's deck on the nightstand.

 _Seto's gonna need this, if that creep is back in the picture._

Honda slipped the deck into his pant pocket, climbed out the window and began a very difficult decent down to the garden.

***

     Seto's attacker watched from the boughs of a tall tree.  He was contemplating a good excuse to give his employer for his failure.  True, he had incapacitated the older Kaiba, but there was the matter that his other target had by now perished in the flames.

   The radio he kept with him began to signal an incoming message. No doubt that it was Pegasus checking in on the operation.  He ignored the beeping as he decided his excuses for loosing Mokuba.   

  Justas he was ready to explain a very long-winded story, the man caught sight of Honda climbing down the mansion wall and dropping safely to the ground…with Mokuba.

 Smiling the man answered his radio.

  "Anderson(1)? What's your status?" Kimo's voice inquired.

"Mission 1 accomplished, but Mission 2 has been delayed." Anderson replied.

 "What happened."

"The house caught on fire and then some little punk got in and grabbed Mokuba, but tell Master Pegasus that Seto is as good as dead.   I gave him the beating of his life and if the injuries dun kill him, the smoke probably will finish him off."

   Anderson could here the radio being handed off to another person.

  "Very good." A maliciously sweet voice cooed.

"You hurt Kaiba-boy..but you failed in not bringing me his baby brother(2)."

Anderson swallowed; he did not want to enrage Pegasus.

 "My apologies sir, but it was hard to get through a burning office. Kaiba had locked the little one in securely. I could not get to him."

 "It is alright for now Anderson…the fire was actually a good touch.  You added more salt to Seto's preverbal wounds. Seto almost loosing Mokuba in that situation, will make the wretch suffer a considerable amount.."

  "Thank you sir."

 Anderson breathed a sigh of relief. Pegasus was not angry with him.

 "No then, go get Mokuba….and don't fail me again..if you do, your soul is mine and an eternity awaits you in the shadow realm."

 Anderson nodded. "Yes sir."

***

  It was a few days later when Seto finally swam back into consciousness. He winced as his numbed senses began to register the aches and pains of his injuries.

   He moved slightly and he heard the rustling of sheets.  He registered that he was reclining.  The boy attempted to open his eyes but his right eye was swollen shut and something was covering his left eye and a part of his face.

  Seto reached up with some difficulty and managed to brush the bandages that covered his eye.  His arm buckled, and then fell limply to his side.

  _Where am I._  He wondered.  Where ever he was did not sound or smell like a hospital. 

  His lips were burning and he ran his tongues against them to alleviate his cracked and bruised lips.

   It was then that he realized how thirsty he was.  His mouth and throat were dry and sore.

   _There has to be somebody here._ He thought.

 "H-hello?" He managed to say or rather croak.  His voice was scratchy and very faint. He tried to speak again but his voice dissolved into a fit of hoarse coughs.  The coughs in turn irritated the boy's broken ribs.  Seto let out a pained but soft moan before the coughing, and the pain, resumed.

 "Hey you're up." A voice said.  It was familiar to the young CEO's numbed mind.  Seto listened intently, trying to place the voice's owner.

  "Doc said you'd be up." The mystery voice continued. The voice was warm and friendly.  Seto still could not figure out who was speaking.  It hurt too much to think at the moment.

  He felt gentle hands move to the bandage over his left eye.

  "I guess we can take this off now." The voice remarked.

  The hands carefully removed the coverings, and Seto opened his good eye, only to shut it again from the bright light of the alien room.

  Seto opened his eye slowly and blinked. His vision was blurred for a few seconds and then cleared.

  A pair of honey colored eyes and blonde hair swam into view.

 "Joey?" Seto whispered.

  "Hey Seto. You okay?"

  "Joey…Wheeler?" Seto blinked in confusion.

  Joey smiled, but his eyes were full of concern.

"Yeah, its me. You've been out for 3 days now."

   Seto blinked at this information. Three days? It felt more like the next morning, and at the same time months.

  "Doc said I gotta check on some stuff when ya woke up." Joey said as he pulled a small clipboard from a side table.

 "You think you can answer a few questions? Its only so the doc can see how bad ya hit your head." Joey said with a gentle smile.

  Seto gave Joey a dazed nod.  The blonde teen held four fingers. 

"Okies, how many fingers am I holdin' up?"

  "Four." Seto replied.

Joey nodded and scribbled down the answer on his sheet.

 "Okay. What's your name?"

"Seto Kaiba." Seto said weakly.

   Joey asked Seto three more questions about his age, the year, and his favorite duel monsters card.  Seto answered them all correctly, with out hesitation, and Joey recorded his answers.

   Seto licked his cracked lips again. His mouth was so dry. He swallowed, but grimaced as he felt how parched his throat was.  Seto looked up to see Joey reaching over him.  The blonde carefully and gently propped Seto up and brought a glass of water to the injured teen's lips.

  Seto immediately allowed the glass entrance as he greedily began to drink.  The water was cold and sweet. It felt so good as it eased some of the boy's discomfort.

  "Easy." Joey quietly chastised.  "Not so fast."

  Seto slowed his gulping and soon finished the glass.

  "Want more?" Joey asked. 

  Seto shook his head.  He felt satiated for the moment.

"Looks like you're not as dehydrated as you first were. The last time you were up, you took three glasses."

  "last time?" Seto question.

"Yeah. Ya probably dun remember. You were still pretty up on the meds."

 "Oh." Was Seto's only comment as he groggily blinked. He felt so exhausted all of a sudden.

  "So..tired…" Seto moaned as his eyelids began to droop.

 "You should get some more rest. You've been through a lot bud."

 Seto mumbled, "Like what?" He said in a faint voice as Joey laid him back into the pillows.

  "Just get some more rest. I'll tell ya later. Promise."

  Seto nodded and closed his blue eyes.  

  Joey sighed and brushed a few strands of hair away from Seto's eyes.  A lot had happened in the last two weeks.  Who would have thought way back then that Seto Kaiba would be under Joey Wheeler's roof?

    With a final check on his patient, Joey turned to leave the small guest bedroom of his apartment.

  "Joey…" A soft voice called.

 Joey turned and met the half-open cobalt eyes.

 "Yeah?"

"Where's Mo-mo?" Seto asked.  Joey smiled at Mokuba's pet name. Seto had to be really under  his pain killers to use his little brother's nick name so freely.

"He's fine.  I'll tell ya the whole story when ya get up.  Just like I promised." Joey moved back to the bed and resettled the covers on the  injured boy.

" 'k." was Seto's reply.

 Joey turned away once more, when Seto called out once more.  "..joey…"

"Yeha?" The blonde sighed.

 "Thank you."

  Joey smiled. "Dun mention it."

***

1) Bwee Matrix…*puts shades on* Hello Mr. An-der-son…BWHAHAHAHA agent smith..^^ okies…I'm hyper..MARIA GOT MEAT TODAY after 15 days of strict fast…  
  *Y. Bakura and her are going to have a Meat Hoedown…*

2) I love how the prick says that. Dun ya? I mean it kinda makes me wish that Seto called Mokuba 'baby brother' instead of 'little brother' or 'little one.' 

Aww…….whata sweet chappie, dun ya think?

 And now my fellow readers…what do ya think should happen to Seto? Should he regress into "I hate friendship, because I've lost my brother" mode, or will he try to maintain his friendships?  What will happen to Mo-mo and Pegasus? 

 I need suggestions, because I have three different endings, and I'm not happy with any of them a the mo'. So if you have a suggestion, leave it in your review. Any suggestions I use, I will give credit to the person!! 

 So please help a lazy…er…POOR author who is suffering from writer's block!!

See yas!!


	12. ummm

Okies everyone I am back, sorry for lack of updates...here we go!!!  
  
Today's episode was written during the hurricane that the east coast had earlier this year.  
  
M: Hey everyone! Today, Carolyn and I will be showing you all how to survive a hurricane or other natural disasters!!  
  
C: Thats right ^^. Now then, to begin with one must always be prepared. Have a room where you can store canned food, blankets, flashlights, books, and of course your bishies...  
  
Wufei: LET ME OUT YOU DAMN ONNA'S!!!  
  
Seto: Wheres my brother??!  
  
Joey : *is currently struggling with a can of peaches* 'Ey, can a guy get a can opener in here??!!  
  
M: Stocking ahead of time, give you ample time to figure out the correct dosages for the tranquilizers *grins*  
  
* Yami is stumbling around the room with a glazed look in his eyes. He leans up against Seto, and rubs his cheek against the brunette's shoulder.*  
  
Yami: heh...fuck the heart of the cards....I LOVE YOU MAN..*breaks into a fit of giggles:*  
  
S: 0o..... M: ..... Carolyn, did you mix up Yami and Marik's traquilizers again....  
  
Marik: BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! NO MERE PILLS CAN SUPPRESS THE POWERS OF MY MILLENIUM ROD!! HAHAHAHAA I'LL KILL YOU ALL AND RULE THE WORLD!!!!!!  
  
C:....possibly..  
  
***  
  
Seto woke up a while late. He felt much better than he did after his "initial" awakening. He was less drowsy and much stronger. Seto could open up his right eye now, but with still some difficulty as it was still swollen.  
He was in a small simply furnished room, that contained the bed he was laying in, a small dresser and a night stand. Seto shifted his weight, attempting to sit up with out aggravating his chest injuries. He noticed a dull throb in his forearm, drawing his attention to the IV. The blue-eyed boy moved slightly to inspect the machine, but soon stopped when his injuries protested. Seto moved a hand from his sternum and down his chest, feeling the bandages that were wrapped securely around his upper body. His arms too had been wrapped in various places to cover any abrasions and lacerations that the boy had suffered.  
"You're up." A voice commented with much surprise. Seto shifted his gaze to Joey, who stood in the door frame with a tray in one hand, and a clip board tucked securely under the other arm.  
"Joey??" The boy asked, still uncertain of his surroundings.  
The blonde grinned and set the tray and clip board on the nightstand before pulling up a chair, "How are you feeling?"  
Seto made a quick assessment before answering, "Not sure. Okay I think..don't know if the pain killers are still in effect."  
Joey shrugged his shoulders. "If you don't feel hungry, they probably still are. The doctor said they'd curb you appetite, but make you extremely thirsty."  
Seto unconciously licked his dry lips. "That explains it." he commented. Joey smiled and filled the glass on the nightstand with fresh water.  
"You want anything to eat?"  
Seto shook his head. Joey shrugged, "Doc said you're gonna have to eat something, regardless if your body tell's you it ain't hungry." " I'm not hungry." "Just a little??"' "No. Thank you. I'm just thirsty."  
The blonde helped Seto into a more comfortable position, before bringing the glass so that Seto could drink. Seto attempted to hold the glass on his own, but it wobbled in his grasp.  
"Give it a few more days, Set." Joey said as he took the glass and steadied it for Seto, who drank the liquid gratefully. After he had drank his fill, Seto leaned back into the pillows. The sapphire eyes stared almost pleadingly at Joey as the boy opened his mouth to request the story that Joey had promised. "What happened? Can you tell me now?" Seto asked. Joey ran his hand through his hair, and then smirked. "Only if ya eat something." ***  
CLIFFIE! BUHAHAHAHAHAAAA 


	13. Friends to the rescue!

Wooohooo Its new years everyone!! We and the Bishies are all staying up and drinking champaign ^^  
  
*Yami is stumbling around (again) and grabs Seto*  
*Hic* ...I LOVE YOU MAN!! FUCK THE HEART OF THE CARDS!!!  
  
S: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH GET HIM OFF!!!!  
  
Maria: . Carolyn....did you get him drunk?  
  
C:....no....*scoots in front of a door*  
  
*Maria pushes her aside. The door opens and she finds a very hammered Wufei and Duo* M: .......Carolyn...  
  
C: OK FINE!! I GOT THEM DRUNK BUT I SWEAR I DIDN'T GET DRUNK...I only gave him a beer...or two...  
  
M: then who....  
  
*Alone in a room Quatre sits amongst a pile of kegs that are labeled "Zero Syst. Light." ...*  
  
Q: BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA...FIRST THE BISHIES..AND THEN THE WORLD BHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! AND THEN ALL THE COFFEE SHOPS!!! I'LL SHOW THEM WHO HAS A SO CALLED "CAFFEINE ADDICTION!!!! ALL YOUR MOCHA BELONG TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!  
  
**** Hey everyone!! Sorry to leave ya hanging like that, go back to chappie 13!! It has story text now!! Go any further and you'll be extremely confused!! The following is all flashback!!! ***  
  
Seto looked expectantly at Joey as the blonde placed the empty soup bowl on the night stand.  
  
"All righty 'den. Here's the story." Joey said a she sat back down into the chair.  
  
Seto nodded, and leaning back into the bed and settling into a comfortable position. "I'm all ears, pup."  
  
Joey gave Seto an annoyed smile, and cleared his throat, " Okay...once upon a time...there was a boy named Seto Kaiba and he like to pick on the handsome and totally cool Joseph Wheeler...."  
  
Seto snorted, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Be serious, ok?"  
  
Joey grinned, "Ok. I'll be serious."  
  
*** Flashback***  
  
"Good Heavens!! What happened to him?" Anzu cried as Bakura and Joey came into view with Seto's beaten form.  
Joey shook his head. "Not sure, but something major went down in 'dere."  
Firefighters, ambulances, policemen, and news reporters were all over the Kaiba property. A pair of paramedics approached the teens and quickly began to tend to Seto.  
"Is he going to be okay?" Yugi asked the medic, as one medic placed an oxygen mask over the unconscious boy's face, while another bandaged any of Seto's open and bleeding wounds.  
The medic sighed. "Dunno kid, we're going to take your friend tot eh hospital. They'll be able to help him out."  
Seto was loaded onto a gurney and into the back of the ambulance.  
"Wait! Can we ride with him?" Ryou asked.  
"Are any of you family? If not, no. Only family members can ride with a minor (1)."  
Joey raised his hand. "I'm his cousin!"  
The medics looked at the blonde quizzical. " Are you 18 or older?"  
Joey looked at Yugi for help, "No..but..."  
"We need a family member that is at least 18 or older to accompany him."  
Anzu growled at the medics, "You mean you'll just sit here and wait for an adult, while Seto Kaiba is in need of medical help??"  
The medic pushed Anzu back towards the group, "Yes, thats the rule. You kids go get behind the police tape, before any of you are hurt."  
Joey ran forwards, trying to push past the medics, " I'm his cousin, and we are going to the hospital, NOW.."  
The medics grabbed Joey, "C'mon kid, get out of here all of you!!"  
"But he needs help!" Yugi yelled. " Beat it, you lousy kids!!"  
"Yugi!!"  
The teens turned around to see Yugi's grandfather running up the lawn towards them. "I just saw on the news what was happening!! Is everyone alright?"  
Joey was struck with a brilliant idea. He grabbed Yugi's grandfather, and started moving towards the ambulance.  
"Okay, docs, 'eres Seto Kaiba's uncle lets go!!"  
The older man looked towards his grandson confused at the situation. Yugi shrugged his shoulders with an expression of "Just go along and we'll explain later."  
Joey and Solomon Moutu climbed into the back of the ambulance, before the EMTs shut the doors and drove off. "I hope he's ok." Yugi sighed as he and the others watched the ambulance drive away.  
"Wait. Where's Honda and Mokuba??" Anzu said looking around the Kaiba property.  
//Honda should have been out by now, Aibou// Yami said in a hushed tone.  
"He was right behind us. All he had to do was check to see what was in that room." Ryou said.  
"I wonder where Mokuba was during all of this. Where ever he is I hope he got out alright." The silver haired teen sighed.  
"He's right over here." said a voice from behind.  
The three teens turned to see Honda approaching them with Mokuba tucked safely in his arms. "Honda! Mokuba!" Yugi cried with relief. "We were worried about the two of you."  
"Glad to be out of that hell" Honda smirked, "but... I'm not too sure about Mokuba."  
Anzu brushed a few of the raven locks of hair out of Mokuba's face, "Whats wrong with him? Does he need a doctor?"  
Honda shook his head, "I don't think a doctor would have a cure or believe what was really the matter with him. Take a look."  
The taller boy gently laid Mokuba on the grass, and opened the younger Kaiba's eyelid. The blue-grey eye was glassy and emotionless. "His soul is gone again." Honda explained in a hushed tone.  
Yugi, Anzu, and Ryou stared in disbelief. "What?" "Its gone. Mokuba's soul is gone. I know for sure because this is how he looked when I rescued him back on Duelist Kingdom."  
Anzu look sadly at the child's still form, "If Mokuba's soul is gone then that means that..."  
"Pegasus is control of the millennium eye again." Yugi hissed.  
"Are you sure its Pegasus?" Honda asked.  
Yugi clenched his fists, "It must be. Only certain people can wield millennium items. Besides that look whats happened so far, Seto hasn't shown up at school since the dance, Duelist Kingdom goes up in flames that same night. Which probably means that Mokuba was also attacked that night, and that Seto has been either devastated about his brother, or trying to locate Pegasus."  
"How right you brats are." A voice sneered. The teens turned to see Anderson advancing towards them. The larger man chuckled as he approached the bewildered group.  
"Heh, thats right. Master Pegasus took Mokuba's soul to torment Kaiba. It was like a warning shot to you punks that he has returned. Its been great watching that brat suffer. Kaiba's been moping around his mansion trying to find Pegasus, but he'll never see his brother again. Mister Pegasus figured that he'd have the kid's body too, since Seto won't be restoring Mokuba's soul to it any time soon." "You bastard." Bakura hissed. Anderson laughed again. "Big words, little punk. Now hand the brat over and I won't be sending ya to the hospital with Kaiba."  
"CATCH ME FIRST, YOU ASS!!" Honda said as he scooped up Mokuba and sprinted away as fast as he could. Anderson lunged to grab the boy's trench coat, but Ryou tackled Anderson's legs, sending them both crashing to the ground.  
Anderson savagely kicked Ryou away, and struggled to his feet to catch up with the escaping Kaiba.  
He pushed past Yugi and Anzu who made brave, but weak attempts to hold him back. Anzu began to scream trying to alert the firemen and police.  
Anderson managed to catch up with Honda. He grabbed the tan trench coat and dragged the running boy to the ground with his prize. "Give him up!" Anderson snarled as he attempted to pry Honda's body off of Mokuba's.  
Honda'd tightened his grip on the smaller boy's body. "NO!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"  
Anderson grabbed Honda's thrashing form, and begian to lift him bodily off of the younger Kaiba.  
"HEY YOU!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THAT KID??"  
Anderson looked up to see three burley firefighters running towards them. Anderson cursed, and shoved Honda forcefully on top of Mokuba. "You won't protect them forever. Master Pegasus will get his way." Anderson hissed, and retreated into the bushes.  
The Firefighters, helped Honda up.  
"You okay, kid?"  
"Yeah, I am thanks." Honda replied, as he check to see if Mokuba was unharmed.  
"Is he okay?" One of the firemen asked, pointing at Mokuba's still form.  
Honda nodded hastily. "Yeha, yeah, he's cool. This little guy is a heavy sleeper. A herd of elephants couldn't wake this one up."  
There was no point in trying to explain what was really wrong with Mokuba. The Firemen nodded, and left Honda to finish their work. "That was crazy."  
Honda looked up to see Yugi, Anzu and Bakura running towards him.  
"So now what?" Honda asked, lifting Mokuba into his arms once again.  
Yugi shook his head. "This isn't good. Pegasus is back and after Seto and Mokuba. We need to figure out what his goal is, and where he is hiding. Its going to be difficult because Pegasus can be any where waiting to strike."  
"I think the best course of action," said Ryou, " Would be to take Seto and Mokuba to a secure place, and then figure out how to deal with Pegasus."  
Anzu nodded, "Thats right. We'll figure out away to protect our friends!! Seto and Mokuba need us."  
"But where can we take them?" Yugi wondered. "I mean Pegasus is willing to do anything to get his hands on the Kaibas and the other millennium items."  
  
Honda stood up, "Lets figure that part now. Right now, Seto's pretty safe at the hospital, but what about Mokuba? We need to hide him. "  
"We can take him to someone's house." Anzu suggested.  
"He can stay with me."Honda offered.  
Yugi shook his head. "He can't stay with you, Honda. That guy heard your name, and this is the second time you've saved Mokuba. Pegasus' goons would search your house first. I'll take him."  
"No you can't either, Yugi, because Pegasus would also look there as well, and who knows if Pegasus is also after your grandfather. Its too dangerous there for Mokuba. Anzu you can not take Mokuba either, because neither of your parents are home during the day, and Mokuba would be a sitting duck for Pegasus to take. I'll take him." Ryou said.  
"Your parents are in another country, Bakura!!" Anzu pointed out.  
Ryou smiled, "I know. But I do have Mrs. Tweed. And I am pretty sure she wouldn't mind having another person to fuss over."  
  
***  
Joey and Solomon sat outside the emergency room waiting for the doctor's report on Seto's condition.  
The door of the waiting room opened and Anzu and Yugi entered.  
"How is he?" Yugi asked  
"No news yet." Joey responded as slouched further into the chair.  
Yugi and Anzu sat next to each other on Joey's right side. Yugi leaned close to Joey so he could whisper to Joey what had gone on back at the Kaiba mansion.  
"Someone's after them. We think its Pegasus."  
Joey nearly fell out of his chair. "SAY WHAT??"  
"Joey! You idiot, keep it down!" Anzu snarled at the blonde as people turned in their seats to stare at them.  
"Sorry."  
Yugi pulled Joey closer and whispered hurridly, "Mokuba's soul is gone. Thats why Seto wasn't at school. He has been looking for Pegasus to get Mokuba back. A guy attacked Honda trying to get Mokuba's body, so he could take him to Pegasus."  
Joey looked at his friends which much concern, "Holy shit, Yug." "I know." Yugi sighed. "Well where is the lil' squirt now?"  
"At Bakura's. For now it's the safest place. Honda's over there right now."  
Joey nodded. "Well, where's Seto going to st.."  
The doors of the ER opened and a doctor came out to address them. "Mr. Kaiba's uncle?" The doctor asked.  
Solomon raised his hand.  
"How is he?"  
The doctor re-adjusted his glasses and looked at his clipboard.  
"Well, He's going to be alright. The boy was in bad shape; he had two broken ribs and a lot of bruising, that should heal in time. According to our tests however, it seems that Mr. Kaiba wasn't at peak condition before hand. He was dehydrated and malnourished which seemed to have been brought on by stress and serious fatigue.  
  
As of now, he is still unconscious, but breathing on his own. He shows signs of waking and will stabilize soon. When he stabilizes we will discharge him from the hospital after keeping him under observation."  
The doctor paused a minute to re-adjust his glasses yet again, and then continued.  
"However, because Mr. Kaiba is a minor, and you are not his legal guardians, he will be discharged to a state program unless he is taken into custody where an adult is present and will allow for at home treatment."  
"State program?" Anzu asked. "It is a program where we keep an eye on children who are orphans or do not have a stable home to for proper recuperation. Its basically a foster home run by nurses."  
"Where is it." asked Yugi.  
The doctor sighed. "Not too sure. Whichever one has availability. The closest one it about two hours away."  
A nurse approached the doctor and gestured him towards the ER. "Please excuse me." He told the group.  
Yugi sighed, "this isn't good. Even if Seto is taken into a state program, he's still in danger. Pegasus could go after him and we'd never know, nor would anyone at that place care if he went missing."  
"Yeah, and I doubt Seto has the fondest memories of the foster home he lived in as a kid. That last thing he needs is to be two or more hours away from his home." Joey added.  
"We could take him in." Solomon said, placing a hand on Yugi's shoulder.  
Anzu shook her hand. "No Mr. Moutu. Even though it's nice at the game shop, Seto's not safe there. It would be the first place Pegasus would look."  
Yugi nodded, "Yeah. Even if we weren't friend's Pegasus would know we would shelter the Kaibas."  
Joey got up and started heading towards the lobby.  
"Where are you going Joey?" Solomon called after the retreating blonde. "Ta call my dad. Gotta ask him about something."  
****  
When Joey got back to the waiting area, the doctor had returned and was speaking again with Solomon, Yugi, and Anzu. "The hospital is getting very busy." The doctor said. "I must move on to the next patient, and this paper work needs to get in order. Do you have a place where Mr. Kaiba can go to?"  
"Yugi. We have to take him. We'll risk Pegasus finding him." Solomon said to his grandson.  
"You don't have to risk anything, Mr. Moutu!" Joey said. "What do you mean Joey?" Said Yugi.  
"What I mean is, that Set's gonna come to my house! So fork that paper work ova here. My dad is on the way." Joey said with a look of triumph.  
The doctor nodded, and handed Joey a sizable stack of paperwork. "I am sure that he will be in good hands." The doctor said with a reassuring smile.  
After the doctor left, Solomon looked at Joey, "Are you sure that you want to take Seto? I am willing to take the boy in."  
Joey grinned. "Positive. You heard the doc, Set'll be in good hands. He'll be good as new!!"  
"Or checked into a mental institution..." Anzu smirked. ***  
To be continued!!! ^^ Please R and R!! 


End file.
